Scandalous Sins
by Leia Avenrose
Summary: *Chp 4*//A sorceress gone mad after the untimely death of her father. The Headmaster of Balamb Garden slowly being eaten away at by the invisible clutches of remorse and heartache. A well known Matron gone. An Instructor on the brink of death? r&r plz....
1. ~**~Prologue/Chapter 1~**~The angel come...

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own anything or anyone from _Final Fantasy VIII_.... SquareSoft© owns it all!!

_Dedication:_ To all who read, review, and love.... o.O... *giggles*

The Heart Of a Lion... But The Soul Of A Man

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_~The Heart Of a Lion... But The Soul Of a Man~_

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_~Prologue~_

_~~The Angel Comes and It Goes..._

" Ugh! ", was his first impression when he landed face first in the muddy puddle on the rain soaked ground of the fields. He quickly turned his head to the side to spit out the distasteful water and then peered up at who the pink shoes that the person who attacked him belonged to.

_' Mom and dad aren't going to be too happy to find that I decided to go swimming in a puddle of mud. '_

He blinked and then frowned as he found himself peering up into a pair of wide shocked chocolate brown eyes. He grunted lightly as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. His attacker crouched down on her hunches and looked at him

" I-I didn't hurt you, did I? ", she asked gently.

He ran a hand over his face to try and wipe off the water and mud. He shook his head slowly and looked at her with narrowed sapphire blue eyes, " No, but why don't you watch where you're going next time? ", he suggested bitterly. 

_' Who is she? She must be new... I haven't seen her around here at all... '_

She bit her lip and brushed aside some of her shoulder length raven black hair that fell from it's place behind her ear, " I-I'm sorry.... did I... offend you in any way? "

He sighed and then stood up. He reached down and tried to wipe off the rest of the mud that was splashed across the front of his light yellow t-shirt. The girl stood up as well, smoothed away the wrinkles that had appeared in her short pink dress and watched him with curious eyes, " Do you live over there, in Winhill? ", she asked as she pointed to the little town from where she stood in the fields which came up to her stomach.

He looked at her and his angered eyes softened just a touch. 

_' She looks like an... angel. '_

He nodded slowly, " Yes... where do you live? "

She smiled lightly and scratched her head, " I live in Derling City... with my daddy and mommy. My name's Rinoa Heartilly. What's yours? We're spending time in Winhill. Do you have a mommy and daddy? "

He nodded, " Yes... ", he then frowned. " I'm Squall Leonhart.... "

Rinoa smiled at him again, " That's a pretty name... are they nice? "

Squall frowned and then self-consciously rubbed the smooth skin between his eyebrows, " Yes. Why do you ask? "

Rinoa bit her small lower pink lip and shrugged, " I don't know. I guess because some mommies and daddies aren't nice.... "

Squall watched her soft featured face and then cocked his head to the side, " Why are you here in Winhill? "

" I... I don't know. Daddy said that he wanted to get away from... his work back home to spend time with his family. "

" Oh... w-would you like to come home with me to play? ", Squall asked lightly, almost shyly.

Rinoa giggled and then nodded, " Alright. Mommy and Daddy are there probably talking with some of the older people... but I will go home with you to play. "

Squall smiled and nodded as he reached over and unexpectantly took her by the hand and led her into the town. Rinoa blushed behind her hair as he tightened his grip on her hand. He bit his lip and grounded to a halt as he stood in the middle the now dead quiet town.

Rinoa bumped into him again and he grunted lightly. She looked around frowning, " Where is everyone? ", she piped up quietly from behind him.

Squall looked around and then took his hand from hers to scratch his head in question, " I... I don't know. Everyone was here when I left, but now they're all gone. "

Rinoa nodded, " I know. S-squall... would they all be in the bar? ", she asked, her small voice taking on a hint of hope.

Squall shrugged, " I don't know, Rinoa... I'm going to go and check. Will you come with me, or do you want to stay here? "

"....I guess I'll come with you. I'm scared, Squall....", she whispered softly as she reached out to clutch his arm.

Squall patted her hand awkwardly, " It'll be alright. I'll protect you if we get into trouble... alright? "

Rinoa nodded, " O-okay... you promise? "

Squall looked over his shoulder and suddenly smiled at her, " Of course...."

Rinoa smiled back and released his arm. Squall slowly and quietly made his way towards the little bar his mother owned. He swallowed slightly as he walked up the step to stand in front of the closed door. There were no sounds coming from the other side and that puzzled his little eight year old mind to complete confusion.

Rinoa looked around the empty town over her shoulder and didn't notice the strange tall figure leaning casually up against the house across from them in the light shadows. She turned her attention back to the closed door.

Squall looked over his shoulder, " You alright? "

Rinoa looked at him and nodded, " Y-yes... I'll be fine... "

" Okay... I'm going to go inside now... _stay_ close...", his little voice hinting a major note of seriousness.

Rinoa nodded and watched him as he pushed the oak door open. She hugged her arms to her chest for comfort as a sudden draft brushed across her bare arms. She gasped inwardly and took a step back. Squall stood in the doorway and blinked hard as he stared at the bodies sprawled out all over the bar floor and on the tabletops. 

He closed his eyes and shook his head, muttering, " T-this isn't happening. Where's mother? Where's Ellone... I want sis...."

Rinoa tried to look over Squall's trembling shoulders, but she wasn't tall enough. She reached out and gently placed a warm, small hand on his shoulder. He jumped and whirled around to face her. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he began to hiccup quietly, " R-r-rinoa... *hic*.... we have to g - *hic* away. S-something's not *hic* - ght here. "

Rinoa blinked as she watched his tears fall. She felt her lower lip tremble as tears of her own brimmed her eyes.

She nodded slowly, " S-squall... where's my mommy? I want my daddy....", she began, but he cut her off by placing a trembling finger to her lips.

Squall shook his head, " W-we can't. Not now.... *hic*...close your eyes. Alright? "

Rinoa nodded slowly and did as she was told, the tears then slid down her cheeks, " A-alright. Now what? "

Squall reached out and grabbed her hand. He walked into the bar and guided her up to the stairs where they walked to the upstairs room of the bar, where his mother and father usually sat and talked with customers about adults things.

" We're almost there. Just hang on and keep your eyes closed. ", Squall instructed.

Rinoa nodded, " W-where are we going? "

" I'm going to see if my mom or dad are upstairs..."

" Ok..."

Squall pushed open the door and slipped Rinoa's hand from his. He turned and looked at her, " Okay... open your eyes. I want you to stay here.... _don't_ go outside just yet. Not until I'm done taking to my mom or dad. Alright? "

Rinoa nodded and looked at him with scared eyes. Squall reached out and gently trousled her hair, " It's going to be alright. Okay... just don't worry. I'm going to get you back to your mom and dad. ", he assured her.

Rinoa smiled lightly through her tears and nodded, " Okay... "

Squall left her to stand by herself, leaned up against the door, with her head bowed. He walked up the rest of the stairs to find no one in the room. He frowned deeply and walked over to the closet. Squall pulled open the doors and would've cried out loud, but the body that fell out and landed on top of him muffled his cries of shock and surprise.

Squall fell to the ground, banging the back of his head against the floor hard. He groaned lightly and rubbed at his head, completely forgetting about the heavy body on top of him. Rinoa's small voice flooded up from the small set of stairs, " Squall? Y-you alright over there? "

He groaned and nodded absentmindedly, " I-I think so... just stay there. I'm coming back... "

Rinoa nodded and remained silent, waiting for him to return. Squall reached over and roughly pushed the body aside so he could stand up on wobbly legs. He knitted his brows as he peered down into the pale and blood streaked face of his mother - Raine Loire.

His father and Ellone were no where in sight. Not even in the little town. Squall shook his head and backed away, " N-no... mom? You _can't_ be d-dead... where's dad? Why isn't he _here?_ " , he asked her.

Squall got no response from her, but he got something from Rinoa, " Squall? Y-you alright? ", she asked as she began to make her way up the stairs towards him.

Squall heard the floorboards creak and he whirled around," No! Just stay there... don't get involved with this _just_ yet...", he called out.

Rinoa swallowed, stopped and then sat down on the step, wondering what was going on.

Squall walked over to his mother's dead body and knelt down. He reached out and gently traced her cheek with small, chubby fingers. Her blue eyes that were so full of life before were now wide as saucers and lifeless. Her small mouth was set in grim determination of protecting something. _Him?_ _Her family?_ _Herself?_

Squall was so busy thinking about his mother that Rinoa's shrieks didn't pierce his mind till he heard the door leading to the bar slam shut.

_' Rinoa! '_

Squall's head snapped up and he jumped up. He ran to the stairs, knocking the fish bowl that was sitting comfortably on the little table by the staircase onto the ground, spilling the contents and it's owner out onto the ground. 

_' No... I promised to protect her. She's all I have now... this isn't fair... where's sis? Where's dad? '_, he thought as he raced down the stairs.

Rinoa's voice suddenly cried out to him, " S-squall... the fields! Look for me there! I'll _be_ there... I promise.... "

_' No! I won't... Rinoa, you can't... fight him. '_, he pleaded silently. _' I promised to protect her and now she's being taken away from me. I didn't even get a chance! '_

Squall shook his head not wanting to believe anything she just said and ran down the stairs as fast as his legs would allow him and then weaved his way through the sea of bodies. It was raining outside at the moment. He could hear it banging down upon the roof when he was upstairs.

He threw open the door and ran out into the open to watch as Rinoa outstretched her hand to him, her little and scared face streaked with tears, blood, and the rain that fell.

Squall ran to catch up with her, his little blue sneakers making sploshing sounds in the puddles, outstretching his hand to her, praying that she would be safe and that he'd be able to get her back, " Rinoa... don't! ", he cried out as he continued to run with all his might though the heavy downpour of the rain.

He heard approaching footsteps suddenly to his right and when he whirled around blinded by the rain and tears, he wasn't quick enough to spot whoever smacked something on the back of his head, sending him into the eerie darkness that awaited him, the little girl named Rinoa Heartilly's sobs and cries haunting him the entire way....

_~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~_

_~Chapter 1~_

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~~Memories~~

//_Nine years later_\\

" Come _on_, Squall! You're going to be late for the graduation. ", Zell hollered from the other side of the closed door as he began to pound loudly on it.

Squall Leonhart groaned inwardly as he sat up slowly. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rested his head in his hands. Something was tugging at the end of his mind and it was annoying him to great lengths. He frowned lightly and then ran a hand through his thick short brown hair.

" Count on Zell to be your personal alarm clock. ", he muttered under his breath sarcastically as he stood up and stretched the stiff knots from his back.

" Don't _make_ me bust down this damn door, Squall! At least holler back to give us a sign that you're alive and kicking in there... ", Zell called out.

" Yeah! Come on, Squall... don't be such a party pooper! ", Selphie Tilmitt's voice followed.

Squall then groaned loudly and Zell chuckled, " I heard something! He's alive.... "

Squall couldn't help but smile lightly at his stupidity. He shook his head as he crossed the room to his closet where he opened the doors slowly only to fall to the ground as he felt something heavy fall on top of him. He groaned lightly as the back of his head hit the floor hard. He sat up and went to push whatever had fallen onto him off, but his hands passed through air.

There was nothing there...

Squall knitted his brows together and stood up slowly, rubbing the back of his head and muttering, " What the hell was that all about? ", he shook his head to try and clear it.

The was a loud pounding at the door and Zell's voice called out to him, he sounded worried, " Squall? You alright in there? We heard a noise...."

Squall frowned, " Yeah! Me hitting the ground. Now, will you leave me alone in peace for just one second so I can change without anyone watching over me? ", he questioned, hollering back.

There was silence on the other side of the door and he let out a breath of relief, _' Good, maybe they'll learn? '_

Squall reached into the closet and pulled out his SeeD uniform. He walked over to his bed, carrying the uniform in hand...

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Zell Dincht frowned deeply as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned up against the wall. Selphie watched him from across the hall, " Whatcha thinking? He's going to be fine...."

" You heard the noise... didn't you? ", Zell asked eagerly.

Irvine Kinneas nodded, " Yeah... I heard it, didn't you hear it, Selph? "

Selphie turned to flash Irvine a dirty look with her emerald green eyes that always sparkled with unknown mischief, " I did! ", she told him. " But, I think Squall can take care of himself. Don't you? I don't think that he needs us watching over his shoulder twenty-four seven...."

Zell sighed and shook his head, " Look... he's already been in there for how long now? "

Selphie pursed her lips together and placed her hands on her hips, " Just stop it already! He'll come out in a little while, Zell. "

Irvine lifted an eyebrow and looked at Zell, " Aww, cheer up. At least you'll be dancing with that girl who you've been having your eye on. "

Zell suddenly smiled as her image showed up in his mind. He nodded, " Yeah... I guess you're right. "

Irvine nodded, " Yeah... and I heard that someone's suppose to show up at the graduation tonight as well. "

The door quietly opened and Squall stepped out into the hallway, trying to adjust his SeeD uniform. Zell looked up at him and smiled, " Well, it's about time you showed. "

Selphie frowned, " Cut it out, Zell! Hiya Squall... ready to party? ", she asked him as she grinned from ear to ear.

Squall looked at her frowning, " I'm not going to ' party '. I'm just going because Headmaster Cid wants me there to greet the person who'll be speaking at the graduation. "

Her smile slowly faded and she slowly turned and walked over to Irvine. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently squeezed them affectionately, " It'll be alright, Selph! You have me..."

Selphie frowned suddenly and nodded slowly, " What good will that do me? You'll be off flirting with the other girls....", she mumbled unhappily.

Zell snickered and Irvine shot him a nasty look. Directing his attention back to Selphie, he sighed lightly and grabbed her hand, twining her fingers with his own, " Come on, Selph... I'll be there, spending my time with you the entire night. Don't worry.....", he assured her.

Selphie rolled her eyes sarcastically and mumbled, " That's what I don't feel like doing... worrying about you. But for tonight, I guess I'm stuck doing just that. "

Irvine lifted an eyebrow, Zell snickered again, and Squall tried not to smile once again that night. Shaking his head he turned and headed down the hall towards the vibrant sounds of music and chatter. Zell frowned as he watched Squall leave. He waved a hand in the air and chased after him, falling in step beside him he shoved his hands into the pockets of hiw own SeeD uniform and looked down at the ground.

" Hey, Squall? "

Squall kept his gaze to the ground, " Mmm? "

" Do you think Isabella will dance with me tonight? ", Zell asked shyly.

Squall blinked and then nodded, " Yeah, why wouldn't she? I mean... you're everything a girl could ever want in a guy. "

Zell's light blue eyes went wide. He stopped and stared after Squall, " W-what?! I don't _really_ have a thing that a girl could want....", he frowned after considering Squall's word. " Name a couple of things..."

Squall sighed and stopped. He didn't have time for this. He turned to face Zell, " Well... you're honest. You never lie... well, hell...you _can't_ lie. Um... ", he scratched the split skin between his eyebrows that was once smooth as a baby's bottom. " well... I can't think of anything else, because I don't know how girl's think, now do I? No.... there. Now, can we get going before we miss the guest speaker? "

Zell nodded slowly and then walked up to him and fell in step with him. Together they walked in silence towards the room full of music and chatter...

_~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~_

Selphie turned her head so she could look at Irvine. Her short brown hair that curled upwards bounced lightly as she shook her head, " Irvine? Why do you think Zell is so.... attached to Squall? ", she asked lightly.

Irvine looked down at his girlfriend with tender blue eyes, " I don't know, Selph.... I don't know. Maybe because Squall use to be very good friend's with him back in the good old days. "

When he always used _'that'_ term, he meant back when all of them were living at the orphange with Matron.

Selphie nodded slowly, " Well... what happened to them? "

Irvine gave her hand a little squeeze, " They grew apart. Zell got adopted by Mrs. Dincht, Squall stayed behind at the orphange, and that was the end of that friendship. "

Selphie bit her lip, " How terrible...", she whispered.

Irvine nodded and remained silent. Selphie sighed lightly and looked at the passing ground beneath her feet as they both walked hand in hand towards the room. Selphie knitted her brows together, " I-irvine? What will become of us in the furture? "

Irvine suddenly looked down at her, " I... I don't really know, Selph. I guess we'll stay be together... always and forever...."

Selphie smiled gently and nodded, " Good! I don't _ever_ want to lose you, Irvy. "

Irvine smiled down at her, " I don't ever want to lose you too Selph. I lost you once, but I found you. ", he brought her hand up to his lips and tenderly kissed it.

Selphie giggled and blushed a light pink. Irvine chuckled and then shook his head, muttering under his breath as they stepped in front of the twin glass doors, " Never ever do I want to have to go through another lifetime without you by my side.... "

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Rinoa Heartilly frowned disapprovingly as she watched her father, General Caraway, talking with Cid Kramer, the headmaster of Balamb Garden. She rolled her eyes and then stood up from the chair she was sitting in. She licked her lips and took a step to go and join in on the festivities surrounding her but she stopped and called out to her father over her shoulder, " Caraway! I'm going to grab something to drink.... don't get _too_ worried. ", she snapped and then smirked as she slowly made her towards the punch bowl.

Rinoa really hated the white dress that she decided to wear at the last minute. Actually she kind of regretted even laying eyes upon it when she was digging through her closet full of clothes. The dress went down to end just above her knees. It was strapless and low-cut. She had also grabbed a silk transparent scarf that she just used to drape lazily over her shoulders.

She walked over to the punch bowl and scooped out a cup of punch. While she poured it into her cup, someone cried out to her right, " Ah! Behind the pillar... he'll _be_ there... I promise! "

Rinoa blinked hard trying to understand the image that had just popped up into her mind at those words. A little boy with short brown hair and sapphire blue eyes, wearing a light yellow t-shirt that was soaked and stuck to his body like a second skin with his hand outstretched to her as if trying to reach out to her. The little voice then cried out in her mind, echoing as it faded out. 

_" ' Rinoa... don't! ' "_

Rinoa frowned and shook her head, _' I think I should get more sleep....'_, she thought to herself as she turned and walked away from the punch bowl.

She walked down some steps to find herself standing at the very edge of the dance-floor. She watched in amazement and awe as the dancers danced to the Waltz for the Moon. She sighed lightly and shook her head, " you'll never catch me out there... I'd be dancing by myself..", she muttered as she turned and began to make her way to stand against a wall alone in the shadows.

Rinoa took a small sip of her drink and made a sour face, " Ugh! Someone must have spiked it already...."

She shook her head and then tossed the cup into the closet garbage bin she could find. She walked up to the wall and spotted a man about her own age leaning up against the wall. His head was bowed and his thick brown hair fell in front of his eyes. Rinoa cocked her head to the side and watched him

He looked up suddenly and spotted her. He frowned and then squinted his eyes to catch a closer glimpse of her. She giggled quietly and slowly made her way to him. When she was standing in front of him, she watched him as he took a sip of his wine. 

Rinoa quietly cleared her throat, " Hello... who might you be? Why are you standing alone... over here? "

Squall looked at her with sapphire blue eyes and then shrugged lightly, " What are _YOU_ doing over here? ", he countered with an uplift of the right side of his lips.

Rinoa knitted her brows together in confusion and then shrugged, " I came over here because I don't feel like sitting with my father all this time. And besides, I don't have a partner to dance with, so... I decided to join the shadows, since they are always alone....", she told him softly as she scratched her head lightly.

Squall nodded and remained silent. He took his final sip from the wineglass and then gently laid it on top of a serving tray that floated past them. He grazed a finger over his right eyebrow before looking up at the star filled sky through the glass dome roof.

Squall sighed lightly and Rinoa frowned, " What's the matter? "

He shook his head, " Nothing...."

" Oh..."

Silence.

Squall bit his lip and waited for something to happen. He turned his head to the side and found himself lost in a pair of sparkling chocolate coloured eyes, _' Those eyes....'_, he thought.

He shook his head and frowned, " Do you dance? ", he asked suddenly.

Rinoa chuckled lightly and nodded, " Yes... I've been waiting for someone to dance with me. But there's no one around who's available. I was going to go for that guy over there in the black cowboy hat, but I guess I can't anymore, now that that girl with the curled hair that points upwards won't let him out of her sight. "

Squall suddenly chuckled lightly. Rinoa lifted an eyebrow and then frowned, " What? What did I say? "

He shook his head still chuckling, " N-nothing.... I... those are my friends. ", he explained. " They're going out. "

Rinoa turned to watch them. Selphie was waving her arms around in the air and shouting and Irvine was backing away slowly with his hands held up in defense. She then laughed lightly, " They sure do make a good couple..."

Squall looked down at the ground and then shook his head, " They love each other. That's all that matters...."

Rinoa nodded and looked up at him, " I suppose you're right. "

The music for the Waltz slowly began and Rinoa unexpectantly grabbed his hand and began dragging him out onto the dance-floor, " Come on! We're going to miss in on the intro.... you know how to dance to this? ", she asked him suddenly.

Squall nodded, " Yes... done it million's of times...", he lied lightly through his teeth.

Rinoa lifted an eyebrow, " Well then. Let's just see how long you last then..."

Squall shrugged lightly and fell in step with her to the rhythm, " I will try...but don't blame me if I end up stepping on your dainty feet. ", he joked lightly.

What was he doing? He didn't even know the girl and he was already flirting with her. He groaned inwardedly and gave himself a mental shake as he stared down into her eyes and found himself completely lost. He then heard her cry out quietly enough for him to hear.

Squall blinked and looked down at her feet, feeling a warmness creep up into his cheeks, " I'm sorry... see? What did I tell you? ", he tried to laugh it off, but he just couldn't. Instead he sighed in sudden frustration and turned to leave.

Rinoa shook her head and muttered under her breath as she lunged at him and grabbed a hold of his forearm in a firm grip, " Oh, no you don't. You're going to dance with me weither you step on my damn feet all night long. "

Squall whirled around to face her, " What? "

Rinoa pressed her lips into a tight line, " Where are you going? The dance isn't finished. We still have to go through the last part. ", she reminded him.

Squall swallowed nervously as he spotted his friends standing at the edge of the dance-floor, waving to him and probably talking about him too, " I... yeah, I'm sorry. "

Rinoa sighed a quiet breath of relief and took her hands from his arm. Together they stood in the middle of it all, staring at each other with their opposite arms lifted in the air, their palms touching lightly. Then the band stormed down into the last part and Squall and Rinoa fell right into the rhythm of it all. Completely ignoring everyone around them until she stood with her palms pressed flat against his chest. His arms tightened around her slim waist as he pulled her to him.

Suddenly there was a big bang and a bright flash as the fireworks lit up the dark skies overhead. Rinoa and Squall watched in silence. Rinoa suddenly brought her eyes to gaze upon the side of his face. She noticed the scar running diagonially across the flesh between his serious eyebrows, fading a little as it ended on his cheek and she smiled gently.

She blinked and began to soak in other little details about that side of his nicely featured face...

Her eyes trailed from his strong and determined jaw up to the little sterling silver earring in his one ear up to his serious blue eyes straight to the scar. Squall blinked realizing that someone was watching him closely. He looked down to find Rinoa gazing up at him. He frowned lightly and knitted his brows together in question.

Rinoa flashed him a small smile and then looked over his broad wide shoulder to find her father waving at her, signaling that it was time.

Rinoa sighed quietly and then slowly pulled away from him. He looked at her, " What's wrong? "

She shook her head and held up a finger, placing it to his lips, " Don't speak another word. Look, I've got to go now. I'm sorry for just leaving you like this, but I have to meet someone. I'm running a little late too. ", she said rapidly as she watched her father wave his arms in the air frantically.

Squall opend his mouth to say something, but Rinoa brushed past him quickly, leaving him to watch her go with a look of confusion on his face...

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~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~

Caraway frowned and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched his daughter rush up to him. She tightened her scarf around her shoulders and then snapped, " What is it, Caraway? "

Caraway chuckled and uncrossed his arms, " It's time for the meeting. Did you not... want to go? "

Rinoa narrowed her eyes, " It's the _only_ real reason why I'm here, Caraway and you know it. "

Caraway nodded, " I see... so, who was the young man who held you in his arms? Hmmm? "

Rinoa's hard features softened and she smiled lightly, " I... "

Her father lifted an eyebrow, " Well? "

" He never told me his name. ", she admitted lightly.

Caraway frowned, " Strange. Did you happen to tell him who you were? "

Rinoa shook her head, " I never got a chance to. ", she lied.

" Why not? ", he demanded. 

Rinoa looked up at him and then sneered, " _Why_ would you even care, Caraway? My life is my own affair, _not_ yours. You go and run your little life and I'll run mine. _Don't_ interfere..."

" Is that a threat coming from my very own daughter? ", he questioned her.

Rinoa shrugged and then began to walk towards the room where her father was going to be giving the SeeD graduates a speech. Caraway followed closely behind her and then entered the room which was starting to fill with SeeD's. Rinoa walked out onto the stage and took her place in the chair situated to the left of the podium.

She crossed a leg over the other and looked down at her hands. Her father walked out onto the stage and took his place at the podium. Every seat was full with SeeD's that had passed the SeeD exam.

Caraway cleared his throat and then lifted an arm into the air, telling everyone to be quiet now. Cid slowly made his way up onto the stage and whispered something to her father. She watched and tried to eavesdrop, only catching the name, Leonhart. She frowned and watched as Cid stepped off the stage to cross the room and talk to someone standing by the far door.

Rinoa scanned the room slowly and found no one who she recognised so she sighed lightly and looked down at her hands again. Caraway looked around and saw that everyone was watching him. 

_' Good...'_, he thought as he smiled briefly. " Welcome. I'm sure you are all happy that you can finally be called the true SeeD's of Balamb Garden. I'm also sure that your headmaster, Cid, is also happy for you. I'm General Caraway from Derling city. I was asked... well I wanted to just drop by and congratulate you all on becoming SeeD's. "

He stopped and then scratched his chin before continuing once again, " I was wondering about what some of you SeeD's have planned for your futures? "

One female SeeD slowly lifted her hand into the air and Caraway nodded at her, " Yes? "

She stood up and scratched her head, " Well... I don't really have anything planned. I was just wondering about if there were any new threats about in the world? "

She sat back down and waited for a response. Caraway frowned and looked at Cid. He just shrugged and frowned as well. Caraway looked back at his daughter who just lifted an eyebrow, " What? ", she asked lightly.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to the audience, " Well... I don't believe that there is any new threat to the world.... now that Ultimecia is dead. But what made you ask that question? "

The girl shrugged lightly, looked over at Rinoa and then quickly brought her gaze back down to her lap. Cid lifted an eyebrow and began to make his way to the stage. A male SeeD cleared his throat and yelled out to Caraway, " What about your daughter? "

Caraway blinked hard, " W-what _about_ her? ", he demanded.

" Who is she? "

" Her name..." he looked over his shoulder at her and she gave a flick of the wrist. " her name is Rinoa Heartilly... why? Why do you want to know? "

He shrugged, " Because... I was just curious as to why she's up there with you. What does she have to do with us graduating? "

Caraway lifted an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something unappropriate, but Cid climbed up onto the stage and placed a hand on his shoulder. Rinoa suddenly stood up and looked at the audience. _' Something's not right here...I can sense it..'_

She shook her head and began to back away, tipping the chair to the ground. Caraway turned around to face her, " Rinoa? What's the matter? "

Rinoa shook her head again. Everything was spinning. She looked at her father and he went out of focus, " I... I don't want to be here anymore... I can't go on...", she whispered in pained voice.

Caraway took a step towards her, " Rinoa... come on. Nothing bad is going to happen....", he assured her gently.

Her eyes drooped suddenly and she watched the ceiling pass over her head as she fell back onto the ground. Caraway ran to her and dropped to his knees, calling her name. Cid frowned and looked down at her with worried blue eyes, " Is she alright? What happened? "

Caraway shrugged lightly as he placed a hand onto her smooth forehead that was bathed in a light sweat, " I don't know. She has a fever... I guess she just fainted because of that... "

Some people in the audience stood up and were about to run onto the stage to what had happened, but Cid stood up and turned to look at them, " It's alright. She just fainted...", he told them as he stared out at Squall who was standing up against the wall with a strange look on his face....

__

~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~

Squall looked back at Cid and shook his head, muttering in confusion, " That name... Rinoa Heartilly... why does it sound so familiar? Why does it feel like I've met her before...? "

He brought a hand up and ran it over his face, trying to shake off the funny feeling that had begun to grow in his stomach. Zell walked up to him," What's wrong? "

Squall shook his head, " N-nothing.... I'm just a little tired right now...", he told him.

Zell lifted an eyebrow, " You're sure? "

Squall nodded, " Yeah.... just go grab the others and lets go. This isn't a place where we're suppose to be at the moment. This is between R-rinoa, her father and headmaster Cid..."

Zell sighed lightly and nodded as he left Squall to go in search of Selphie and the others. Squall bit his lip as he watched Caraway lift Rinoa into his arms and then disappear into a door on the right side of the stage, followed closely by Cid. He shook his head and then turned around so he could leave, but he stopped as it suddenly hit him hard in the chest.

Rinoa Heartilly was the little girl... who he had met in Winhill, when he was only eight years old, the day his mother was killed and his father and... sister disappeared from sight....

(_Author's Note:_ *shakes her head* I know, I know... I stole some parts from the FMV of when they danced... but *shrugs* Meh! What can you do? Nothing! *giggles* haha, but I know it's a little short, but I'm trying.... I hope you guys liked it, because I'm going to start writing Chapter 2 right now, after I stop babbling to you guys.... *grins*....)


	2. Strange Sightings

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own _Final Fantasy VIII_ or it's characters... SquareSoft© does....

_Dedication:_ To... you

The Heart Of a Lion... But The Soul Of a Man

_~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~_

_~Chapter 2~_

_~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~_

~_Strange Sightings_~

_' How could I have been so stupid? I should've known it was her when I held her in my arms. I should've known it was her when I stared into those big brown eyes of hers....'_, Squall thought to himself as he flipped onto his back to stare up at the ceiling.

There was a quiet knock at the door and he sighed, " Come in...."

Quistis Trepe quietly stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She stared at him for a few minutes before clearing her throat, " Squall? What happened? You weren't there to congratulate the passing SeeD's...."

Squall turned his head to look at her, but then he frowned and looked back up at the ceiling. He had other things on his mind at the moment then congratulating a bunch of SeeD's. He sighed lightly and shrugged, " I don't know. I guess I had other things to worry about then them at the moment..."

Quistis lifted a light brow at him and shook her head, " You know what your role was. As commander, you were _suppose_ to be there for them...", she told him.

Squall rolled his eyes and then sat up, " I _know_ Quistis. You don't have to remind me....", he swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes.

Quistis watched him with light blue eyes, " What's the matter? Why were you so distracted at the graduation? "

Squall shook his head, " Don't worry about it. "

" But I'll _always_ worry. I'll always worry about you, and Zell... the others. No matter what happens between us. "

Squall sighed and looked up at her, " I know.... I shouldn't have even said anything. "

Quistis smiled gently and crossed her arms over her chest, " Well? "

" Well, what? ", Squall snapped.

" Aren't you going to tell me who you were... dancing with? You two made... a perfect... couple, actually. " , she joked lightly as she brought her hand up to stifle a giggle.

Squall shot her look and shook his head, " Whatever...."

" Aww, come on Squall. Won't you at least tell me? "

He shook his head, " I... no. I wouldn't know how to explain it, and you wouldn't be able to understand it if I did tell you..."

Quistis gave him a little pout, " Please? I will understand. If you would only let me try to..."

Squall sighed and remained silent as he looked down at the ground through the crack between his legs. Quistis lifted an eyebrow and watched him intently, " Squall? What are you thinking? "

His head shot up and he looked at her, as if her being there surprised him," What are y-- ....I, forget it. "

Quistis knitted her brows together, " Alright... if you insist. Since you're not going to answer me, I guess I'll just have to bring in Zell and Selphie....", she grinned.

Squall frowned and flicked his hand in the air, " Whatever...."

" You _asked_ for it...", she told him. " Zell!! Selphie!! He's not coming through to me.... it's your turns..."

Zell and Selphie silently strolled into the room and Squall looked up at them to only look back down at the ground and groan loudly. Zell grinned and crossed his arms over his chest, " Squall, what's wrong now? "

Selphie eyed him but remained silent. Quistis took her place beside Zell and nodded, " Yes Squall... do tell. What's wrong now? "

Squall suddenly stood up and looked at them, one by one, " Nothing. Do you want me to repeat myself? ", he quietly said.

Zell lifted an eyebrow, " Come on, Squall. Is it about that girl? "

Squall winced lightly and Zell grinned triumphantly, " I _knew_ it! ", he yelled.

Squall sighed and sat back down onto the bed with his head in his hands. Quistis watched him and then walked over to him, kneeling, she placed a light hand on his shoulder, " What's wrong, Squall? Are you worried about... her? "

Squall closed his eyes and he the image of a little girl about the age of eight dressed up in a little pink sleeveless dress came into his mind. Her rich brown eyes stared up at him and her shiney shoulder length raven black hair shimmered brightly in the sun.

_FLASH!_

She looked at him and suddenly smiled at something he didn't know was said or thought. Squall watched as she suddenly disappeared from sight.

She was replaced with his mother's lifeless body laying on the ground beside him. Squall looked down at it and then he heard something slam in the distant. He jumped up and ran down the stairs of his mother's bar. He threw open the door and ran out into the rain. He heard someone shout out to him and he found himself looking at the little girl as she was being carried away from him by someone in slow motion.

Squall caught a glimpse of the person who was carrying her away. Someone tall, dressed in a in a blue body suit, with a blue chest plate that covered the back as well. It wore a dark helmet and he outstretched his hand to her, " Rinoa... don't! ", he heard the words escape his mouth and then darkness covered him from all around...

_FLASH!_

" Squall? ", the worried, yet quiet voice snapped him back into reality.

He opened his eyes and looked into Quistis' worried ones, " What's wrong? You cried out something...."

Squall frowned and then ran a hand through his hair," I... it was nothing. What did I cry out? ", he asked curiously.

" Something like...' Rinoa.... don't! '. ", she repeated for him.

" Oh... I, forget what you just heard. "

Quistis frowned and Zell scratched his head, " How come? That name is.... that's that girl's name. The one who was here, isn't it? ", he asked.

Squall looked at him and shrugged, " I don't know..."

Selphie bit her lip and then cocked her head to the side, " Squall? You know we'll always be here for you if you ever need someone to talk to...", she reminded him softly.

Squall turned his head to look at her and nodded, " I know, Selph... I know. "

She smiled lightly and turned to leave the room, knowing that she wasn't really needed anymore. Zell frowned as he watched her leave, " Where's she going? "

Quistis stood up and scratched her head as she looked over her shoulder at him, " I don't know. I guess she went to go see what Irvine was doing. "

There was a click overhead and Xu's voice was heard all over Balamb Garden, " Commander Squall Leonhart. You're needed in headmaster Cid's office. I repeat, Commander Sqaull Leonhart, you're needed in headmaster Cid's office. "

Squall frowned and stood up. He looked at Zell and then at Quistis, " I guess that's my ticket to freedom. I'll see you guys later, when I get back. ", he told them as he made his way towards the door.

Zell watched him in confusion as he left the room. Quistis crossed her arms over her chest and walked up to stand beside him, " Well... I guess that was useless. Don't you think? "

Zell shrugged then nodded, " I guess you're right. But we did get the name out of him. ", he grinned.

Quistis lifted an eyebrow and then after realizing what he was talking about, she laughed, " You're right, Zell. We _did_ get something out of him besides for the frown he always gives us..." 

_~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~_

The slender young woman looked at the man sitting in the big chair as he read some paper in his hand. Her dark brown eyes looked confused as she watched him closely. He looked up at her with deep green eyes that had seen it all in life, " What's wrong? You look pale. Maybe you should go and lay down for a while..", he suggested lightly as he laid down the paper he was looking at.

She shook her head, " I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me...."

He frowned and scratched his chin, " I'll always worry about you. You're all I have left now. Your mother's been dead for nine years now and I don't want to lose you either. Not to how she was killed...."

She smiled gently and nodded, " I understand. Whatever happened to Ultimecia? ", she questioned. " Wasn't it she who killed mother? "

A sad look suddenly appeared in his green eyes and he looked down at the desktop, " I... I don't know what happened to her. Last I heard, she was defeated by some SeeD's from Balamb Garden. "

She frowned, " I'm sorry if I... brought up any painful memories...", she apologized.

He shook his head and looked up at her, " It's alright. I was just thinking about her...."

" Oh? I miss her. I think about her _everytime_ I go to bed...", she mumbled softly.

The man suddenly stood up from his chair and walked across the room to kneel in front of the girl. He looked up at her and then reached up to gently stroke her cheek, " It'll be alright. we've survived this long. I think we can manage..."

She looked at him, smiling lightly, " Why did you leave her? "

The question caught him off guard and he suddenly looked down at the ground, " I-it was her wish. She asked me to take you and run...."

She knitted her brows together, as if not understanding, " B-but what about Squall? Why did you leave without him? You _left_ him... h-how could you? "

He sighed lightly and looked up into her tear filled eyes, " I... I had to. I couldn't find him. Remember? He took off during the afternoon...."

She sniffled lightly and fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her face into the curve of his neck, loving the musky scent that he always carried with him, " I'm sorry for accusing you... I-I didn't mean it. ",she sobbed lightly.

He smiled lightly and wrapped his arms around her slender figure, holding her tightly, " It's alright.... now how about you go and rest? It'll do you wonders... I promise...", he whispered to her as he gently storked her short brown hair.

She chuckled and nodded, " Alright...."

She stood up and then wiped at her tears. She quietly walked from away from him and just before she was about to leave the room, she called out softly over her shoulder, " Goodnight, uncle Laguna...."

Laguna Loire smiled lightly to himself, " Goodnight, Ellone....", he then shook his head as he stood up and made his way back to his desk, her accusing words echoed through his mind, " _' You left him....'_ "

_~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~_

" Come on, will you! We _don't_ have all day to dwaddle. We have to get to that damn garden some time today. ", a tall guy with short blonde hair and dangerous blue eyes cried out to the figures standing behind him, a couple of feet away.

" But why? They aren't going to leave without us, ya know. "

Seifer Almasy growled under his breath as he raked a gloved hand through his short locks. He whirled around and slashed his arm wildly through the air, " Stop complaining, Raijin! We're _going_ to go back and ask if they'll take us in again. Got it? "

Fujin frowned lightly as she rubbed at her good eyes, " _ANGERED?_ ", she asked.

Seifer looked over at her and the dangerous look in his eyes softened a touch. He sighed lightly, " Not mad, just tired... annoyed. "

Fujin nodded, " How long till we get there? "

Seifer shrugged, " It'll take about another good hour or more if we start out again now..."

Fujin turned to look at Raijin, who was kicking at pebbles and grass with his boot, " Stop being like that, Raijin. We have to keep walking. When we get there, you can sleep all you want. "

He looked up at her and scratched his head, " You promise? "

Fujin nodded, " Yes. ", she turned and looked at Seifer. " and so does Seifer, right? "

" Huh? ", his head shot up as he looked at her then at Raijin's tired face. He flicked his wrist. " Yeah, yeah. Sure. "

Fujin smiled, " See? Now... can we keep going? ", she asked the both of them.

Seifer nodded, and remained silent as he began to head towards the garden, glowing in the far distance. Raijin shook his head, mumbling something about stupidity, then followed Seifer without complaining. Fujin scratched her chin and then followed them in silence, shaking her head at something that had just entered her mind....

_~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~_

" How is she doing? ", Squall asked quietly as he brushed past Xu to walk into Cid's office.

Cid looked up from the folder he had busied himself in to watch him as he took the chair in front of his desk, " She's... doing alright. It was just a slight fever, from what I was told. "

Squall frowned, " Just a fever? "

Cid nodded, " Mm-hmm..."

" That's odd. She was fine when we... were.... dancing. "

Cid lifted an eyebrow, " Dancing? You? ", he chuckled. " Forgive me, Squall. But what do you mean.... by fine? "

_' Why do I even care about her? I don't even know her that well...'_

His frown deepened, " She was alright. She didn't look sick, she didn't feel like she had a fever. "

Cid sighed as he closed the folder after glancing down at the picture and placed it into a drawer in his desk, " the punch was spiked, Squall. Did she have any? "

Squall cocked his head to the side, " I think I remember watching her drink something and then throw it out...", he recalled as he scratched the back of his neck.

Cid nodded, " So, then that's the cause of her fever...."

Squall nodded and looked down at the ground. Cid watched him closely and then shook his head, " Something's bothering you, Squall. What is it? "

Squall suddenly looked up at him, " Nothing. Why do you want to know? "

" Because I've watched you grow most of your life, Squall . I care for you and for the others as if you were my very own children. "

Squall scrowled suddenly, " _Now_ you all of a sudden care about me, and the rest of them? Since _when_ did you ever care? ", he retorted harshly.

Cid flinched lightly and sighed, " I've always cared, Squall...", he stated simply.

" Bullshit! You didn't care when you made us go off to fight Ultimecia... Quistis and Irvine almost died. And now you're telling me you... care? "

Cid bit his lip, " You know it wasn't me! ", he stood up from his chair and firmly planted his hands on the top of his desk. " I'm sorry if it was... 'me' who caused you the pain you're now feeling, but it wasn't my fault..."

Squall rose from his chair to glare at the old man, " Are you telling me it wasn't your fault that my mother died? Or Ellone was taken from me? "

Cid shook his head, " It wasn't me... I swear it wasn't, Squall.... how could you even think that. I didn't even know you exsisted when that happened. Unless you've forgotten? "

Squall quirked an eyebrow as he clenched his hand into tight fists at his sides, " Forgotten what? "

Cid suddenly smirked, " That it was your father that took Ellone. "

Squall shook his head hard, " My father's _dead_, Cid! "

Cid cocked his head to the side, wearing a look of sympathy on his soft features, " Is that what they told you? That your father was dead and that I was and probably am in your mind still responsible for your sister's disappearance? ", he countered.

Squall suddenly looked confused, " What are you talking about? Are you telling me that Ellone is probably still alive and that you're not responsible? "

Cid shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest, giving him a look to question him again. Squall gritted his teeth in anger and then wildly slashed out at the air with his arm, " Tell me! Are you or are you not responsible. For if you are, then so help me god, I'll _slit_ your throat....", he slowly reached down and pulled his Gunblade from it's sheath.

Cid watched him and cocked his head to the side, blinking, " Do it Squall.. if it'll make you happy, then do it. ", he shouted lightly.

Squall raised the Gunblade up and over his head as he began to advance towards the desk and towards Cid, who just stood there staring at him. The door to the office suddenly was thrown open and Edea Kramer stood there frozen to the ground.

She frowned at what was taking place and then screamed out, " Squall! What in god's name do you think you're doing? Put that damn Gunblade _down._ " 

Squall stopped and whirled around to face her. She looked into his confused eyes and bit her lip. She outstretched a hand to him, and began to coax him gently, " Squall? Come on... p-put it down. Nothing bad is going to happen if you just put the Gunblade down. Can you do that? ", she asked gently.

Squall blinked hard and tears suddenly brimmed his eyes, _' what's going on? what am I doing? '_

He felt his hands tremble as he slowly began to lower the Gunblade. Squall suddenly opened his hands and the Gunblade clattered to the ground loudly. He looked down at the ground and then back up at Edea. He shook his head, looking at her with the frightened and confused eyes of the little boy she found sitting in the bluffs of Winhill, crying, nine years ago.

" I... I didn't mean to do it. I...", he swallowed thickly and slowly sank to the ground.

Edea and Cid watched him in surprise and complete shock. Never had they ever seen Squall Leonhart cry. Not once in the entire time that they had raised him. Cid sank down into his chair with his head in his hands. Edea rushed to Squall. Dropping to her knees, she wrapped her arms around him and held him as he gently cried on her shoulder, muttering something about not being there in time.

Edea gently rocked him back and forth, stroking his baby soft hair softly, she whispered lightly in his ear as she planted a tender kiss on his temple, " Hey... come on now. It'll be alright. Nothing is going to happen. You just made a little... mistake, that's all. Why don't you go to your room to rest for awhile? "

Squall sniffled quietly and then whispered back, " I didn't mean to do it. I mean... I wasn't there for them.... I was... elsewhere. "

Edea knitted her brows together, " Where were you? What are you talking about, Squall? When? "

Squall closed his eyes, " I was with... Rinoa......", he murmured against her shoulder.

_~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~_

Zell bit his lip and rushed over to Quistis, " What happened? I just heard about him. "

Quistis looked up at him from her cup of coffee, " Well... Squall had a little...", she frowned. " I don't know how to describe it, actually. "

Zell frowned as he took the seat beside her. Selphie gently grasped Irvine's hand and looked down at the table, " I just finished talking with Matron and she said that it was a breakdown of some sort. "

Irvine watched her," What do you mean? Our Squall... breaking down? ", he joked lightly, but no one laughed.

Quistis shot him a look, " Squall's been through a _lot_ in his life. Could you at least cut him a _little_ slack for once, Irvine? "

Selphie frowned lightly and remained silent as she leaned over and rested her head against his arm. Irvine sighed loudly, " Okay... okay, Quisty. I'm sorry....."

Quistis looked up at the ceiling and noticed a red ballon hanging from it. She cocked her head to the side and then closed her eyes. Zell watched her and then looked down at the table, wondering what really happened to Squall in Cid's office.

Selphie chuckled lightly and Irvine looked down at her, " What's so funny? "

She shook her head, " Nothing... I was just thinking about that girl he was dancing with.... they looked so well... perfect together. You know what I mean? ", she nudged him in the side.

Irvine grimaced and nodded, " Yeah... I know now. Selphie? You want to come with me to go check on him? ", he asked her quietly.

Selphie looked at him and bit her lip, deciding, " I... don't think that would be a good idea. "

" And why not? ", Quistis suddenly spoke up as she opened her eyes and looked over at her frowning.

Selphie's lips tightened into a thin, tight line, " I... don't think it would do him any good. He needs his rest. Doesn't he deserve it after what happened between him and Ultimecia? You saw how she treated him, after doing all those.... things to him...", she shuddered suddenly and Irvine reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Quistis frowned and then nodded, " I know what happened, Selphie... we _all_ saw it. But he needs us. He needs our support. We need to tell him that we'll always be there for him..."

Zell nodded, " She's right. If you guys aren't coming with me, then I'm going by myself. ", he stood up from his chair and began to head towards the dorm section.

Quistis sighed and followed him in silence, leaving Selphie and Irvine by themselves. Selphie blinked as she watched a girl about her age walking up to their table. She leaned forward and then frowned as she realized that it was the girl that Squall was dancing with the other night.

Selphie nudged Irvine in the ribs and he grimaced, " What?? "

She nodded towards the girl who was walking towards them with a somber look on her face, " That's the girl that Squall was dancing with last night. What's she still doing here? "

Irvine shrugged as he watched her approach, " I don't know. I don't know her..... but she sure is -- Ouch! ", he cried out as Selphie elbowed him in the ribs.

He rubbed at them with a hurt look on his face, " What?? ", he whined.

Selphie shook her head and watched as Rinoa walked up to the table and looked at her. She nodded, " Hello.... mind if I sit down? "

Irvine remained silent as he kept his gaze to the tabletop. Selphie eyed her and then nodded, " Sure! We're not expecting anyone so, be our guest. "

Rinoa smiled gently and pulled out the chair. She sat down across from them and cocked her head to the side, " I saw you guys arguing at the graduation last night... when I was dancing with that guy. ", she frowned. " I didn't even know his name..."

Irvine looked up at her and cocked his head to the side, " You must be Rinoa Heartilly. The one who... passed out on the stage last night. How are you feeling? "

Rinoa shrugged lightly, " Not much better then I did last night. Probably worse...."

Selphie watched her, " That's horrible. What happened? "

Rinoa crinkled her brow as she tried to remember, " I... it was hot in the room. Not because of everyone who was in the room... it was just.. I don't know, actually. I looked around and everything was spinning and going out of focus. I stood up thinking something that I can't remember now, and then I watched as the ceiling passed over my head and then I hit the ground. ", she frowned as she tried to recall everything.

Selphie watched her and smiled lightly, " It'll be alright. Maybe you should go and lay down somemore...", she suggested.

Rinoa shook her head, " I... I can't unless I figure something out. Can you help me? "

Irvine lifted an eyebrow, " And what do you need help with? "

" I need to know who I was dancing with last night. ", she confessed with a shy sigh.

Irvine looked at Selphie and she nodded, " His name was Squall. Squall Leonhart...."

Rinoa stared at Selphie. Irvine knitted his brows together as he watched her, " Umm... are you alright? "

Rinoa blinked hard and then stood up from her chair quickly, " I... I'm sorry. "

Selphie stood up as well, " What do you mean? You know him? "

She shook her head slowly, " I... I don't know. ", she whispered in a trembling voice as she suddenly turned and left them to gape at her in confusion....

_~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~_

Rinoa ran, shoving people past her as she ran down the hall towards her room. She shook her head as she continued to run. She turned the corner leading into the infirmary and closed her eyes, only to ram right into someone tall and muscular.

She stumbled back, but regained her balance. Her eyes flew open and she watched as the guy known as Squall Leonhart regained his own balance to look at her.

Rinoa stood up straight and swallowed thickly, " H-hello... Squall...."

Squall blinked as he watched her. He nodded, "...Rinoa...."

She looked at him and then shook her head, " I... I can't..."

Squall knitted his brows together and outstretched a hand to her, " Rinoa... I..."

Rinoa looked at him, " You what? ", she said lightly as she backed away.

He bit his lip as his hand dropped to his side, " I'm sorry...."

Rinoa stopped backing up and lifted an eyebrow, " Sorry for what? "

" For what happened... before. "

Rinoa looked down at the ground, _' This isn't right. I shouldn't be here, talking to him. I should be at home with Caraway. '_

Squall watched the top of her head with a frown on his face, _' What's she thinking? '_

Rinoa suddenly looked up at him, with tears in her eyes. Squall suddenly felt his heart ache, " W-what's wrong? "

She shook her head, " I.... ", she swallowed again and then looked down at the ground.

Squall sighed lightly, " Why are you crying? Was it something I... said? ", he wondered.

Rinoa shook her head and took a step towards him, " I... no. It's nothing. It's in the past. ", she assured him.

_' No it's not! Why don't you just tell him? '_

Squall reached out and gently wiped away a tear that had slid down her cheek with the pad of his thumb which was covered by his leather glove. She looked up at him and shook her head, undescribable emotions flickering in her brown eyes.

" Squall... I... we... no.", she whispered as she tried to back away from his hand, but she couldn't move as he quickly slid his other arm around her waist and pulled her to him, pressing the length of her body to his, trying to fit every one of his hard angles with every one of her soft swells and curves.

Squall looked down into her eyes and then lowered his face to hers. Rinoa searched his face and watched him as she felt her lids slowly droop. Squall frowned lightly, _' What am I doing? '_, he asked himself as he felt his lips brush down against her soft ones.

Squall suddenly saw the image of her being carried away from him, and he remembered his promise to her, which he hadn't kept. His eyes flew open and he suddenly pulled away from her. Rinoa opened her eyes and brought trembling fingers to her lips. She looked at him and tears brimmed her eyes.

Rinoa shook her head and she muttered under her breath, " W-what was wrong? I-it's all your fault...." , she brushed past him rudely, ramming her shoulder into his.

Squall flinched lightly from her words as he brought a hand to his mouth. He rubbed his lips and then groaned lightly as he shook his head, " I'm so stupid.... I'm so stupid....", he muttered as he began to turn around and chase after her, but thought better of it. 

_' What made me do it? What's wrong with me? '_

Squall closed his eyes and raked a hand through his hair. People who walked by him, gave their commander sympathic looks that he really didn't need at the moment. What he needed was to figure out what was happening to him and why Rinoa Heartilly gave him emotions and feelings that he never felt before....


	3. Another Sorceress?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, so don't you peeps sue me, cuz I got nuttin.....  
Dedication: To...you, the reader....  
  
  
~**~Chapter 3~**~  
  
~**~Another Sorceress?~**~  
  
Cid walked to the window and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked out at someone walking across the fields. Edea quietly walked into the room and sighed lightly as she crossed the room to stand beside her husband. He looked over at her and frowned deeply.  
" What's wrong, Cid? ", she asked gently.  
He shrugged and raked a hand through his hair, " I don't know. I'm just a little worried about Squall. H-he's never ever acted this way before..."  
She nodded ," I know. That was...rather...odd, to walk into the room and see him advancing on you with his Gunblade drawn..."  
He turned fully to look at her, " Edea? What happened when you...found him, nine years ago? "  
She suddenly bit her lip and looked down at the ground. Her long dark hair fell over her shoulder, curtaining her face from view. Cid reached over and gently brushed her hair aside. He slid two fingers under her chin and lifted her face up so she could look at him, " Can you...remember? "  
She shook her head, " I...I don't want to remember...."  
" Please? I need to know, Edea. Why he suddenly turned on me...", he pleaed lightly.  
She sighed, " Well...you remember that I was going for went for a walk, right? "  
He nodded.  
" Well...I was walking in the fields when I accidentally tripped on something. I stumbled and then fell to the ground in what appeared to be a large pool of blood. I...I as stunned. Horrified! I stood up quickly and then whirled around to see what I had tripped on, and there he was, laying in the middle of it all.   
The large pool of blood was from him, but I saw no wound anywhere on his body as I examined him. He was...about eight years of age, if I remember well. He was completely pale and his little lips were a light blue. He was completely soaking wet and not from the blood wet either. I checked for a pulse and found a rather strong one, so I reached over and shook him gently, attempting to waken him.   
His eyes opened to reveal a beautiful blue...almost like Sapphires. He looked at me, blinking once, and sat up quickly. He looked around and....and the first thing to slip through his lips as be looked back at me was, ' Where's Rinoa? Where's Ellone? '. "  
She stopped and wiped away a tear that had travelled down her cheek. Cid smiled gently and urged her on, " Please...."  
" I looked down at him and he looked back at me. He didn't seem to notice the blood at all. he stood up suddenly on wobbly legs and began to walk away from me. I told him to come back, but he only turned around and shook his head. I asked him why and he said that he had to go back.   
He promised he wouldn't let anything happen to her..."  
Cid lifted an eyebrow, " Promised who? "  
" R-rinoa...."  
" So....they've already...met? "  
She nodded, " That must be it. But I told him that we'd go and get her back...only if he came home with me. He sighed lightly and crossed the pool of blood to walk up to me. His eyes were full of tears and he then looked scared. He asked me if I promised and I told him that I did. He sniffled and then wrapped an arm around my leg only to bury his face into it.   
He was so scared he was shaking badly. I picked him up and carried him home. We got home before you did. I'm sorry I didn't explain it all to you...the blood, the promise...everything..."  
He shook his head and gently gathered her in his arms. He hugged her hard and then gently stroked her long hair, " It's alright. But what does the blood have to do with him turning on me? "  
She shrugged lightly, " I...I'm not sure. I never asked him what happened before I found him. He's never talked about it once since he arrived here...."  
He nodded, " I see..."  
She frowned lightly and then buried her face into his chest, " What happened with him and Ultimecia? "  
" How do you know about that? "  
" I...I overheard what was being said earlier...I'm sorry. "  
He shook his head, " It's alright. ", he frowned. " That's right...you were in (a??)coma when he and the others fought against Ultimecia. Well, he fought her and defeated her. Irvine and Quistis were both fighting a despearate battle with death when Squall brought them back. Squall brought them back to Garden and didn't really say anything when he returned. He was badly shaken by something and holed himself in his room for the rest of the wekk...until Quistis awoke and knocked on his door herself. "  
Edea nodded, " I see. So what will happen now? "  
He shrugged and then nodded over to the tall stack of paper on his desk, " I have to finish the rest of those forms. They're about the news kids who want to become a SeeD..."  
" I See...", she repeated." Well then, I'll just leave you to your paperwork. I have to go check on the Junior classmen..."  
" Alright. "  
She smiled lightly and then left the comfort of his arms. She turned and then began to walk away, but Cid reached out, grabbed her elbow, and spun her around to face him. His arms went around her slim waist and his lips ascended onto hers. Kissing her passionately, he held her close, almost as if afraid of letting her go.  
When he finally pulled away, she looked up at him with shining eyes, " What was that for? "  
His face went serious as he reached out and caressed her soft cheek, " I'm getting some bad feelings that something's going to happen..."  
  
*****************************************************************************************  
  
Rinoa paced the ground quietly with her head bowed, hands clasped tightly behind her back, her blue frock flaring out behind her as she walked. She sighed suddenly, threw her hands un into the air, and stopped pacing as she turned and crossed her room to sit on the edge of her bed.  
She bent over and placed her head in her hands, " What's going to happen? I can't let anything happen between us. There's nothing there for us. Why did he kiss me? Why was I so disappointed when he pulled away? How am I going to get home? ", she asked the room loudly, the questions tumbling out of her mouth in a rush.  
The room answered her with silence. There was a quiet rapping at the door and she bit her lip hard, ' It's him. He's come to apologize....', " Come in! "  
The door slid open and Selphie stood in the doorway. She smiled lightly as she stepped into the room, the door closing behind her. She walked across the room and sat down in a cushioned chair which sat facing the bed, " Hey Rinoa. How ya doing? "  
Rinoa looked at her, " I...I'm alright. What was your name? ", she asked lightly, a light pink crept into her cheeks.  
Selphie giggled, " Selphie...Selphie Tilmitt. "  
" Oh...thank you. How are you doing? "  
" Oh, not bad. I was wondering...why is Squall holed up on his room? "  
Rinoa blinked hard and then shrugged lightly, " I...I don't know. What's wrong with him? "  
" That's why I came here to see you. To see if you knew. I mean, I was told that you were the last one to be seen with him...", she informed her.  
Rinoa bit her lip, " I was the last one with him. I....just don't know...I ran away from him. "  
Selphie lifted an eyebrow, crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned back in the chair, " Why? What happened between you two? "  
Rinoa shook her head and scratched her head, " I...it was nothing. Just a little...disagreement. "  
Selphie frowned, " What....", she sighed. " I don't understand. What was exchanged between you two? "  
" A few words....look. I'm not wanted here, I can feel it. I don't belong here. I need to find a way home. ", she blurted out quietly.  
Selphie watched her and then blinked, " How do you know you're not wanted here? "  
She shrugged lightly and looked down at the ground, frowning, " I...I don't know anybody here, I'm not registered to become a...SeeD, and I need to go home. "  
" But why? You don't know that nobody wants you here...maybe I'd like to become your friend. I could register you...but you might be a little too old now..."  
Rinoa looked up at her suddenly, " You...want to be my...friend? ", she asked, slightly uncertain.  
Selphie nodded, " Of course. You're a nice girl....very friendly, though I don't see why you're keeping to yourself..."  
Rinoa bit her lip and a look of pain flashed across her dark eyes, "...I...it's all in the past...."  
" Would you care to talk about it? "  
She shook her head, "...I, no. I don't want to bring up old memories....I'm sorry...."  
Selphie shrugged and smiled briefly, " It's understandable. Would you like to come with me to go talk to Xu or headmaster Cid perhaps? "  
Rinoa sighed and nodded, " ...sure...let's go now...."  
Selphie nodded and stood up from the chair. She walked to the door with Rinoa in tow. The girls stepped out into the hallway and quietly made their way to the third level of the Garden. Selphie shot Rinoa a sidelong glance and noticed that there was something wet on her cheeks.   
She knitted her brows together and stopped. Rinoa stopped and kept her head bowed. Selphie reached out to her, but Rinoa backed away slowly. She looked up at her, tears shining in her eyes and falling down her cheeks, " I...I'm sorry. I can't..."  
Selphie swallowed and then frowned as she looked into Rinoa's dark eyes as they slowly changed to a light canary yellow, " R-rinoa....why ar-- "  
" Shut up!! I don't want to hear of it anymore...", she suddenly shouted as she brought her hands up to her ears and covered them.  
Selphie took a step back from her and began to take out her Nunchaku. There was a firm hand that gripped her left elbow, pulling her back from Rinoa. She turned to look at who it was and Irvine's lips tightened into a straight line as he watched Rinoa closely. Selphie took out her Nunchaku and held them out, just in case something happened.  
Rinoa blinked a couple of times and then backed away as Selphie and Irvine were replaced with a tall, slender woman who was dressed in a long flowing black dress, that clung to her body like a second skin. There was a V on the front that travelled down the length of her body, ending just below her navel. There was also another V that travelled down her back, ending just at the rise of her buttocks. The sleeves were long and they hung off her hands. Her hair was long and piled up on top of her head, coming down around her hard featured face in soft curls and ringettes.  
The woman blinked and outstretched a long taloned hand to her. The woman's almond shaped eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as Rinoa backed away again, almost stumbling. The woman's eyes were of a deep silver, flecked with deep gold specks. Rinoa blinked many times then cried out as she stepped back again, " No! Stay away, you witch....just go, leave us alone! "  
Selphie blinked her confused green eyes and gripped her Nunchaku tightly, " What's she talking about? I'm not a witch....what's going on? Leave who alone? "  
Irvine pulled out his Shot Gun, and loaded it quietly, " I don't know, Selph. But that's not Rinoa..."  
Selphie spun around to face him, " What?! What the hell are you talking about? That is too her..."  
He shook his head, " Just watch....", he lifted his Shot Gun and aimed it at her chest. " Here we go..."  
Selphie gasped loudly and then swung out with her Nunchaku at the Shot Gun, hitting it and causing it to shoot at the ground, just missing Irvine's right foot by a centimeter.  
Irvine blinked, " What the hell? "  
She shook her head, " It is too her, Irvine....she's just....there's something wrong with her. "  
Rinoa felt tears brim her eyes as she watched the woman advance, ' What's going on? '  
The woman then opened her mouth and began to speak, but her lips didn't move, " Come child.....don't be afraid. I won't hurt you...they will. I'll protect you...forever. I promise you. "  
Rinoa shook her head, " I...no! You're a witch and I'm not going anywhere with you...not after what you did to my mother...."  
The woman shook her head and kept walking towards her slowly, " That wasn't my fault...", she said soothingly. " That was my sister, Ultimecia....please. Come with me. We could do anything you want and I'd be able to protect you...."  
The woman then waved her hand in the air once and then she begins to chant in a low tone, " Yield thy arms and resist no longer come unto thee and by my captive. "  
Rinoa's eyes suddenly felt heavy and she shook her head, " Leave me alone! "  
She felt the tears slid down her cheeks as she lifted her hand over her head and then flung it in the woman's way. A dark purple light suddenly flew from her fingertips and then passed through the woman only to end up smashing right into Selphie's chest. Selphie cried out as she was thrown back. Landing on the ground, on her back, the air sucked right from her lungs. She laid there motionless.  
Irvine cursed and then ran to her. He dropped to his knees, lifted her upper torso and placed on his lap. He looked down at Selphie's calm looking face and then felt tears sting his eyes, " S-selphie? Hey...come on...this isn't funny. Everything's going to be alright. Don't you dare give up...", he whispered lightly as he reached out and gently stroked her cheek.  
Selphie's eyes flew open and she bolted up. She bent over and began to cough uncontrollably, trying to get some of the knocked out air back into her lungs. Irvine was immediately at her side, gently rubbing and patting her back, helping her. Rinoa stared at the woman and shook her head, " W-what happened? ", her voice shook.  
The woman smirked, " So...you've found out sooner then I thought.....good. Maybe you'll be of some use to me..."  
Rinoa blinked hard, trying to understand what happened, " What...are you saying? I won't come with you! "  
Irvine looked over at Rinoa who was backing up from them. Her dark eyes looked troubled and he got up only to pull out his Shot Gun and aim it at her. The woman chuckled evilly and then lifted an eyebrow, " Come on, Rinoa....Squall wasn't there to protect you like he had promised...right? But I will..."  
Rinoa gasped and blinked a couple of times, " H-how do you know about that? "  
The woman cocked her head to the side and shaped her perfect, full lips into the letter E, " I was there, watching it   
all happen when you were taken away, and Squall just stood there. He let you go..."  
Rinoa frowned, " H-he did? "  
She nodded, " Mmm-hmm...he watched you go, he let you get taken away....it's all his fault, just like you said earlier. What will you do now? "  
Rinoa bit her lip and shook her head, " I...I don't know. Kill Squall Leonhart? "  
The woman grinned wickedly and nodded, " Yes...my thoughts exactly. "  
Irvine's eyes went wide and he lowered his gun a fraction, " What?! Why? He didn't do anything to you....you can't kill him. I won't let you....", he raised the gun again.  
Rinoa blinked as if hearing the voice, " I...will kill Squall Leonhart...", she muttered under her breath as she clenched her hands into tight fists.  
The woman suddenly faded out to be replaced with Squall's image. He looked at her and outstretched gloved hand to her, " Come on Rinoa...let's get going..."  
Her eyes suddenly narrowed and she shook her head, " I...no! Squall you lied to me. How could you? "  
He lifted an eyebrow, " I...what are you talking about? "  
She shook her head and muttered low under her as she raised her hand up into the air, spreading her fingers, she suddenly grinned wickedly and let the light that had grown at her fingertips fly forward, " Goodbye, Squall...it was nice while it lasted..."  
It passed right through Squall's image and slammed into Irvine just as he pressed the trigger. The bullet flew through the air and then embedded itself into Rinoa's left shoulder. She cried out in pain and in shock as she stumbled back and landed on the hard ground on her butt. Blood trickled freely from the wound to stain and soak the the left side of her frock.  
Selphie quickly whirled around and watched as Irvine this time fell to the ground. People who were walking by stopped to watch in surprise. Rinoa grimaced deeply and then stood up, her right hand clasped over the wound which began to bleed without stop. Bright red blood seeped through her fingers as she applied pressure to it. She looked around and her eyes were wild.  
The people who had gathered around to see what had happened gasped and pointed at her and then at Irvine. Someone even yelled out, " Witch!! ". Rinoa swallowed thickly and then stumbled forward, pushing past the people. Some shoved at her, which caused her to stumble and then fall to the ground. Her head hit the ground hard, and then bounced off.  
She laid there, breathing labored and coming out in short gasps. Her hand still clasped her arm tightly. She blinked a couple of times as she watched the feet around her moving around. Someone shouted from behind her and she tried to move to get up, but she could only sit up slowly. The crowd around her slowly backed off as Zell and Quistis half pushed their way through to see what had happened.  
When Zell spotted her, he was slightly shocked to see blood seeping from her arm and pooled out around her in a little puddle that was growing. He bent down and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, " R-rinoa? "  
Rinoa jumped and turned her head so she could look at him. Her lower lip trembled as she saw the kindness in his eyes, " I...I didn't mean to do it...I'm sorry...so sorry...", she whispered lightly while searching his eyes.  
' He'll get to you too, Rinoa. You have to finish them all off so SeeD will no longer get to you...', the voice of the woman echoed through her mind.  
She shook her head and then muttered, " I...I will kill them all..."  
Zell lifted an eyebrow, " Huh? Rin -- "  
" SeeD will be no more...", she cut him off.  
" Rinoa...what are y -- "  
" They will no longer be able to get to me and the others...", she cut him off again.  
Zell frowned deeply, " Rinoa...you've lost quite a lot of blood. How about you come with me to the infirmary so we can...fix you up? ", he suggested softly.  
She suddenly fixed her eyes on him and shook her head. She jumped up and looked around at everyone around her. As her gaze passed over some of the students, they cringed visibly and then began to back away, as if her gaze had slapped them hard in the faces. She swallowed and began to walk away from Zell, but he jumped up and grabbed her arm, whirling her around to face him, " Rinoa, you're not going anywhere...you're injured and probably delusional too..."  
She narrowed her eyes, wrenched her arm from his grasp and backed away," Leave me alone, SeeD! ", she spat harshly. " I will no longer be apart of anymore of your mind games..."  
' That's it, go on...you know you're itching to do it child. Do it! ', the voice commanded. ' Make me happy...make me proud! '  
Rinoa's eyes clouded over and she lifted her good arm up into the air. A dark red light began to form from the middle of her palm as she held it over her head. She looked at Zell, gave him a smirk and then lanuched the ball of energy at him. He quickly dropped into a crouch and rolled to the right.   
He stood up quickly and then walked up behind her. He grabbed her arms - not caring if she were hurt or not - and whirled her around to face him. He then bent over slightly and slung her over his shoulder and held onto her tightly. Rinoa blinked a couple of times, slightly stunned, before she began to kick, punch, and thrash wildly.  
He shook his head, " It's not going to work, Rinoa. You're coming with me and the others...."  
She growled loudly under her breath and then lashed her foot out at him, almost catching him in the groin. The tip of her foot caught his left thigh, just a centimeter from his groin. He immediately loosened his grip on her and she pushed him out from under her. She fell to her knees on the ground, but she managed to get up.  
She felt a sudden burst of adrenaline flow through her veins as she pushed off the ground and launched herself forward, at the crowd. They cleared a path for her, afraid she would kill them or hurt her. She began to run at a speed that she didn't even pocess. Quistis was knelt down beside Irvine along with Selphie and her head shot up as she watched Rinoa running from them. She cursed loudly under her breath as her eyes trailed to Zell who was down on the ground, on one knee.  
His face was slightly flushed as his head was bowed deeply. She bit her lip and then shook her head. She looked into Selphie's eyes and sighed, " We can't leave them. Go check on Zell. I'll stay here with him and tell someone to go and grab either Squall or Xu. Alright? We can't go chasing after her now. She's on her own for now.... "  
  
*********************************************************************************  
  
Squall laid on his bed with his eyes closed and his arms laying underneath the back of his head. He cringed lightly as Rinoa's expression of pain and hate entered his mind. He shook his head and opened his eyes to look up at the ceiling. He sighed heavily and then turned over onto his side. He stared at the blank wall.  
' Rinoa....it wasn't all my fault. It was Ultimecia's fault....why can't you see? ', he thought to himself as he frowned deeply.  
There was a light rapping at his door and his frown deepened beyond belief, " Come in...."  
The door slid open and Quistis walked into the room quietly. She stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, watching him with a fiery storm burning in her Sapphire eyes. Squall turned around and looked at her, " What?!? "  
She frowned suddenly, " Squall...I have...news.."  
He lifted an eyebrow and sat up. Running a hand through his hair and then over his face he urged her to continue, " What kind of news? "  
She sighed, " Bad...."  
He stared at her.   
" Rinoa's gone...Zell and Irvine are both in the infirmary. Apparently Irvine shot at her....Rinoa kicked Zell, missing his family jewels by a centimeter...", she stopped suddenly and looked at him. " What's wrong? "  
His face was ashen as he lowered his head to rest in trembling hands. He moaned loudly, " Oh no! "  
" What! "  
He shook his head and suddenly jumped up from the bed, " Take me to them. Who else saw what happened? Any witnesses? ", he demanded.  
" Uh, yeah...a couple, actually...."  
He nodded and brushed past her to go to the door, " Good. Have them called down to Cid's office. I need to talk to them. Understand...."  
She hesitated before nodding, " I...er, yeah! I understand...."  
" Good ", was all he said as he walked from the room and made his way to the infirmary. He passed by Dr. Kadrowski and she smiled briefly at him before grasping his arm and forcing him to stop, " Alright...Commander. Don't go barging in there. They need rest, and plenty of it too. They've just been injured...by a sorce-- "  
" Squall!! ", Selphie's voice floated from the wide open infirmary doors. Squall flashed the Dr. a look of slight annoyance before wrenching his arm from her grip and then brushing past her to head to the infirmary.  
He found Selphie sitting at Irvine's bedside, clutching his hand in hers. Squall looked at her and frowned as he noticed the cut on the right side of her face, just beside her eyebrow, " What's up, Selph? Can you tell me what happened? ", he asked lightly yet firmly as he grabbed a chair and sat at the foot of the bed.  
Selphie nodded and looked him dead in the eye, " One word for you Squall...just one word; Sorceress....."  
Squall sighed heavily and then cursed, " Shit! Let me guess.....Rinoa? "  
She nodded, " I'm sorry, Squall....I really am... ", she looked down at the bed, with her bottom lip between her teeth.  
Squall raked a hand through his hair and then shook his head, " Where is she now? "  
" G-gone....she left right after she bonked Zell on hard. She took the chance when he was down..."  
He nodded, " I see. You have no clue where she went? "  
She shook her head, "...No..."  
" That's alright. I'm thinking of where she would go, but I...wouldn't know the first place to think of. Unless she went back home..to Derling City....", he mumbled.  
Selphie frowned, " Irvine shot at her, but not really on...purpose. His bullet is probably still stuck in her shoulder. He got her pretty hard...from what I saw, but she repaid him the favor.... "  
Squall nodded, " I see....well, Irvine and I are going to have talk later on about keeping weapons away when we're in public. We're not really suppose to use them unless needed, and I don't think we needed to use them on Rinoa... "  
Irvine groaned loudly and nodded, " We needed to use it on her, Squall...", he replied softly. " She was possesed...it was needed and I used the oppertunity to it's limit...."  
Squall sighed, " Yeah...but think of all the people who had gathered around to see the mighty cowboy fighting against a powerful sorceress with a simple...Shot Gun....", he shook his head. " Don't ever bring it out again in public like that, Irvine. I just might have to confiscate it..."  
Irvine snorted, " Whatever..."  
Selphie giggled, " You're starting to sound like Squall now...."  
Squall scowled, " Selphie...please, don't start...."  
Her mouth few open and she stared at him, " Start what, Squall? Huh? "  
He shook his head and waved a hand in the air, " Nevermind....just forget what I said a minute ago...."  
Irvine chuckled loudly and ended up wincing, " Ohh...that hurts. Man, that chick packs in a wholler...doesn't she, Squall....", he joked.  
Squall frowned, " Whatever. I wouldn't know.....I've only met her...remember? "  
" That's what you think....", she piped in.  
He rolled his eyes, " I know, I know...."  
She giggled and then her face went serious, " Are we going to go look for her? Quistis said that she was just going to have to fend for herself...I don't want to leave her like that...", she pouted. " I told her that I'd be her friend and now I feel like I've gone and shafted her...like I broke a promise or a pact...something like that..."  
Squall swallowed and looked at the ground. The image of Rinoa when she was a little girl, being taken away from him by the men in blue uniforms came to mind and he sighed lightly, suddenly regretting not doing anything...  
' But you did do something....you tried. That's what counts, Squall. If you try...then you might just succeed, and if you don't even bother to try, then you have no point in life....there's no point in going on. '  
Squall frowned, ' Great! Now I'm hearing voices in my head...whatever.... '  
Selphie watched him and she cocked her head to the side, " Squall....h-how about we go and look for her? I mean....I'm sure you know where she is, so it won't be THAT hard to find her, right? "  
He shrugged and then scratched the back of his neck, " I guess we could try. But the stunt-devils are staying. "  
Irvine snorted, " I'm going with you. I owe her an apology for shooting her...."  
He shook his head, " She might not even be there if we even find her hiding place. Just wait here for us. I'm sure she'll come back with us, but I don't know about her accepting your apology, Irvine..."  
Irvine's lips went into a tight, straight line, " I'm going! ", he repeated stubbornly.  
Selphie and Squall both sighed in unison. Selphie got off her chair and walked over to Squall. She bent over and whispered in his ear, " It's best if you let him go....he's too stubborn to argue with. Trust me, I would know. He kind of reminds me of our Commander...hmmm? "  
He bit his lip and bit back a harsh retort, " I...guess. He can come. He gets injured, I'm leaving him there. It'll serve him right for arguing with me.....", he said lightly as he shot Irvine a look.  
Irvine shot it right back at him and then nodded, " Thanx, Squall.....we'll find her. Don't you worry....", he told him.  
Squall nodded, " I hope you're right, Irvine, I hope you're right. ", he replied softly as he stood up from the chair and left him and Selphie alone.  
  
*************************************************************************************  
  
She ran, not knowing where to go, or what to do. She was in shock from the loss of blood and from what had happened at Balamb with the whole thing of being called a witch. She wasn't a witch. She was just a normal seventeen year old girl who was just running from her past, running from who she was.  
She clutched her wounded shoulder as she ran. She had grabbed herself a robe with a hood and draped it onto herself, but that wasn't enough to stop the rain and blood from soaking it. The rain drenched her bangs to her forehead as she ran towards Caraway's mansion, from the train station.  
She winced lightly and applied more pressure to the wound. She could feel the blood soak through the robe and then ooze through the cracks in her fingers. She closed her eyes against the coloured spots that danced in front of her eyes and her foot connected with something hard. She fell to the ground, the right side of her face scraping up against the pavement.  
Blood trickled from the wound on her cheek and mingled with the falling rain as it landed on the ground around her. She grimaced and then grunted as she tried to push herself into a sitting position. She then lifted the robe up from her injured foot and saw that it was swelling already.   
She cursed loudly and then grasped a railing to her right to help her stand up. Her breathing was slightly labored as she clutched onto the railing for dear life. She slowly began to limp her way towards the two large closed doors of the manison. A small smile crept onto her lips as she remembered the brief, yet small kiss that Squall and her had shared earlier that day.  
When she reached the door, the railing ended and she had to limp her way to the door so she could knock. She lifted her arm and knocked lightly. She prayed that someone would hear and open. She didn't feel right if she just walked in without saying that she was coming. She leaned forward and rested her forehead against the cool wood of the doors.  
Suddenly, unexpectantly, the door opened and she cried out. She felt strong arms encircle her waist to hold her up and she felt her head droop forward, her eyes suddenly heavy, ' No! I can't fall asleep...I could slip into (a??) coma...I don't want that...', she cried out in her mind.  
General Caraway lifted his daughter's face and gasped as he noticed the scraped and now raw cheek, " R-rinoa? God! What happened to you? "  
She forced her eyes to open and look at him. They suddenly drooped again and she fell into the darkness just as she shot him a smile. She slumped against him and then slid down his body, but he immediately grabbed her and scooped her into his arms. He cradled her to his chest and carried her to her bedroom.  
When he looked down to peer at her deathly white face he then noticed the large stain of blood no the left side of the robe. He groaned and then cursed, " Holy shit....what the hell happened now? I leave you there for a day or so and you go and almost get yourself killed....what would your mother say about this? Hmmm? "  
He got no response. The only response he got from her was when he felt her suddenly shudder in his arms and then go completely limp.   
  
(A/N** *gasps*...ohmigod!.....I-is she....dead? *shrugs* I don't know! Tune in tomorrow night to find out if she lives or decides to leave Squall and the rest of the world......)  



	4. The True Meanings

            **Scandalous Sins**Ô

          By: _Lynzi Knight__  
          _Rating: R

Chapter 4 – The True Meanings 

            "_He said the first thing that came to his mind—I'm already there.  
            Take a look around.  
            I'm the sunshine in your hair,_

_            I'm the shadow on the ground._

_            I'm the whisper in the wind;  
            I'm your imaginary friend,_

_            And I know, I'm in your prayer_[LK1] _,_

_            Oh, I'm already there._"

            //A Month Later\\

          He continued to stare down at the same paragraph. It had already been four hours since he had first gotten the report on the sorceress. He still wasn't finished the third paragraph. His mind continued to drift away from him, his thoughts straying on something other then the report. Again he had holed himself up in his room, only coming out when necessary or whenever the Garden needed him badly. His sapphire blue eyes, once again, darted along the first sentence in the paragraph, the words not registering properly. What was wrong with him? Why did he seem so down? In the background, the small portable radio sitting on top of his dresser played a soft tune consisting of cellos, violins, gypsy violins and a piano. It was somewhat relaxing, it was also the other main reason he wasn't focusing on his report; the music was a distraction obviously. 

            Squall blinked absently. Stray strands of light brown hair feathered along the bridge of his nose as his head tilted to the side some more. The same words rolled across his mind over and over like a broken record, his own conscious speaking them out to him in a monotonous voice. It aggravated him beyond words and description.

            "_…Found she was, but not found the way we had wanted her to be found. Found with her father at the mansion. No words were spoken as she had been taken out of her bed and then out of the mansion entirely. Obvious Caraway wants his daughter to have nothing to do with SeeD or Balamb._"

            He blinked again and then let the paper slip past limp fingers. His hand fell from the air, landing on the desktop noisily. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling as he slouched in his chair. What was he going to do about her now? It was obvious that she was a major threat to the world and to him as well. He couldn't go on living like this, without her in his life. He had to get to her, but how? His thoughts carried him away from the real world once again that day. His eyes went out of focus and they ended up focusing on something else. His mother's face stood before him, a look of agony adorning her beautiful, delicate features. She looked exactly like Ellone. He sometimes wondered whatever happened to his older sister. What _had_ happened to her anyways? The phone in front of him on the desktop rang once, the loud shrill ring snapping him back into the harsh, real world painfully. His mother's face had vanished as he blinked in surprise.

            Squall shot out a hand. His fingers wrapped around the receiver and he yanked the phone from the hook. "Hello?" he breathed into the phone heavily.

            "Whoa. Did I interrupt something, Commander?" It was Xu.

            Squall frowned. What did she want now? "What is it?"

            "Well, Cid wants to talk to you. After the sudden, unexpected death of his wife, he needs a support, Squall. You think you could unlock your door for once in a month and come up here to have a little 'chit-chat' with the Headmaster of Balamb Garden?" Her voice was serious.

            Squall closed his eyes and groaned away from the phone. He had completely forgotten about Matron's death. It had shocked him as well as the rest of the Garden greatly. He missed her deeply. She had always been there to help him in ways no one could. It was just the way she was, just the person she was meant to be in this lifetime. He ran a hand over his face and let his hand rest covering his mouth and nose. What was he going to do? He hadn't spoken with Headmaster Cid since her untimely death. What was he going to say to the old man?

            "Does he need to see me now?"

            "Squall." Her voice held a hint of warning. "Don't be rude! He's been asking for you for the past week or so, you've just been too stubborn to answer your phone until now."

            "Yeah, yeah, sorry about that."

            "Uh-huh. Cid needs to see you, Squall. He mentioned something about him having some news as to Rinoa's unexpected disappearance about nine years ago."

            Squall snorted. "Right! He didn't even know anything about what had happened between her and I. The only person who knew the full truth about it and behind it had been Edea, Xu, and now Edea is dead."

            Xu sighed on the other line. Papers rustled softly in the background. Voices mumbled something to her. He strained to hear what the words were over the crescendo of the strings and piano duet. "What is it, Xu?"

            Silence.

            "Xu?"

            Silence again.  
  
            Squall sat up straight in his chair. There was shouting in the background now as something hit the ground hard. He suspected that it had been the phone. What was going on over there? He furrowed his brow deeply and suddenly jumped up from the chair entirely as he heard Xu whimper. It was muffled slightly, but it sounded like her. He dragged the phone over to the radio and snapped it off. With that taken care of, he stood in silence in the middle of his dorm room with the phone tightly clenched to his ear. More whimpers hit his ear. He flinched the slightest bit as his eyes roamed around the room. They came to a rest on his gun blade. He strode over to it hurriedly and grabbed the scabbard. Holding it tightly in his hands, he absently licked his dry lips.

            "Xu? Speak to me!" he commanded firmly into the phone. "I'm coming down there right now, don't move."

            "S-squall…"

            Squall suddenly froze on the spot. His hands clutched the scabbard and phone tightly. He thought they would break from the hard strength he applied to them. Something wasn't right up on the third floor of Balamb Garden. He had to find out what it was. Now. 

            "Xu, talk to me. Say something."

            "Please, no. Don't hurt me. Get out of here or I'll get security after you."

            "Xu!" Squall shouted into the phone. "Xu?"

            "No! Please…ah, witch! _Witch_! Get away from him!" Xu's voice was trembling as she screamed. "N-no…. don't come over here. Squall? _Squall_! Please, Squall, help us! She's gone ins—"

            _Click_!

            Squall's chest rose and fell rapidly as he stood there paralyzed to the spot in the middle of the room. What had happened? He had to make sure they were all right, that they were still alive. What had gotten to them, an escaped monster from the training center? No, it seemed to be much worse then that. The receiver fell from his hand. It clattered to the floor noisily as he bolted from the room, gun blade in hand, deadly thoughts racing through his head.

*          *          *           *            *

            She hummed softly under her breath as she strolled down the hall towards the cafeteria. She was hungry; her stomach had shown it by growling all day long during her lessons. She listened to the voices around her as well as the various noises from the junior classmen who walked behind her. They were heading in the same direction as she, the cafeteria. Quistis let the humming die down softly as she turned the corner and headed down the hall that led straight into the cafeteria. All day she had mopped around the Garden and during the last of her lessons. She was still deeply saddened by the news of Edea's death, which had only happened a month ago. As she came up to the glass doors, she noticed that the lights weren't on and that there was no one inside the large room. This puzzled her. She stopped right in front of the doors, the junior classmen coming to an abrupt halt right behind her.

            "What is it, Ms. Trepe?" Jacob asked.

            Quistis shrugged and shook her head at the same time. "I'm not sure what it is, Jacob. Don't worry about it, I'm sure they're just not on duty today." She herself wished that she could believe that. The junior classmen, however, seemed to believe her words.

            "I thought the lunch ladies didn't go off duty during the day?" Stacie asked from beside Jacob. She was the second oldest of the group at fourteen, Jacob at fifteen.

            Quistis swallowed her fears. "Don't worry about it, children, I'm sure we can just go in and get ourselves something to snack on." Her British accent was heavy as she spoke. She took a step forward and pushed the doors open slowly with a trembling hand.

            Ever since Edea had passed away, Balamb Garden seemed to be falling apart by the day. Cid just didn't seem to care about it anymore. It was rather sad. As the door pushed open, she motioned for the junior classmen to stay behind. She stepped into the large empty cafeteria, the tables and chairs outlined by a faint light that shone from the back of the kitchen behind the counter. She began to make her way towards the kitchen, her hands gripping her chain whip tightly. Sweat beaded along her brow and along her upper lip as her eyes darted back and forth from table to table. For a few moments she could've sworn that she had seen a movement along the tables in the far corner. It must have been a trick of the light or something. 

            The doors behind her slammed shut. She jumped with a yelp of surprise. Whirling around, the junior classmen stared back at her with wide eyes through the glass doors. Some shook their heads; others gave her a shrug of the shoulders. They didn't do it obviously, then who did? Who else was in there with her? She felt as if she were being watched; she didn't like it, it made her feel uncomfortable. As she passed the two large plants that hugged the doorway beside her, another shadow swept across right in front of her this time. She stopped immediately and stared at where the shadow had just been. Her heart caught in her throat as her blood pounded loudly in her ears. Her head throbbed as fear began to engulf her completely.

            "Hello?" Her voice echoed on and on as if the entire room were bare. "_Hello_?"

            Her voice replied, the same words hitting her hard in the chest. Invisible fingers seized her heart with more fear and she felt her knees tremble. Tears slowly filled her eyes. A little voice in the back of her head yelled at her to turn around and just leave with the junior classmen, but her legs weren't responding. All she could do was turn around slowly and face the adolescents. They stared back at her. Something in their eyes mocked her, dared her to go on into the back of the kitchen, but what was back there? What was waiting for her? What was going to jump out at her and grab her? She didn't really feel brave enough right now to go and find out for herself. Quistis stared at Stacie and watched, to her horror, as a successful smirk lifted the small heart-shaped lips upwards. What was wrong with the girl? Was she enjoying her Instructors' fear? Panic?

            Stacie slanted her head to the side and observed her Instructor in silence. All around, the other juniors from the junior classroom mirrored her actions. Her eyes turned from their violet to a dark glowing red. Some of the other classmates' eyes turned a dark canary yellow, a black, white and bright blue. Something wasn't right. These students weren't _her_ students; they were something more, something more dangerous. Why hadn't she seen it before? Something jolted her from her thoughts as it fell onto the top of her head and rolled down the side of her face. It was warm, wet and disgustingly sticky to the touch. What was it? Quistis stood staring at Stacie and the rest of her class with a look of terror in her eyes and on her face.

            What were they? 

            Quistis blinked absently as something dripped down onto the front of her glasses, sliding down the front of the lens in silence. Her vision, in one of her eyes, turned red. All around her, the steady noises of something unknown dripping against something rose to great volume. Above her, something like flesh being tore apart hit her ears hard. Before knowing what she was doing, she crouched down to the ground and jumped back a few good feet, something large and heavy in weight falling to the ground with a loud thud. She stared down in stunned silence at what had almost landed on top of her. A pair of green eyes stared back at her, the whites around the iris' bloodshot and puffed out. Streaks of blood marked the once handsome features of her former classmate, Johnson Wilson. It all seemed like a nightmare to her. Once again, before she knew what she was doing, she whirled around as soon as she heard the same sound again. She jumped back, but not far enough and her right heel caught on Johnson's uniform.

            All she saw as she flew backwards was the dark ceiling of the cafeteria and shadows with red, yellow, blue and white eyes. The shadows moved at incredible speeds above her head. A scream formed in the back of her throat as her head bounced off the ground. As soon as her head bounced back up, her screams cutting out in half from the impact, she sat upright promptly and went to stand up. Something smacked into her face at a fast speed. The impact from the blow sent her flying through the air. Her back hit the glass doors of the cafeteria. They didn't shatter. The junior classmen behind her didn't move from their spot. They enjoyed their point of view. Instead of the glass doors shattering, Quistis heard something else and felt a sharp stabbing pain above her right brow. Wet, warm blood trickled from her nose and dribbled from the corner of her mouth as she half sat, half laid leaned up against the doors, her arms at her sides limply, her legs in front of her. Her chain whip had been knocked out of her hands; she didn't know where it had landed.

            She had to find a way out. Reaching up with trembling hands, her fingers roamed over her closed eyes. She didn't find her glasses where they were supposed to be, on her nose. Her fingers traveled higher up and the tips of her nails scratched along something sharp, the ginger force of her fingers sending intense bursts of pain to her skull. It felt like someone were driving a nail through her forehead with a sledgehammer. The foreign object stuck out of her forehead just above her right brow. She found part of her glasses. She couldn't find the frame anywhere, just the glass embedded in her forehead. The throbbing had increased and she moaned softly as tears slid down her cheeks. She struggled to regain her sanity, her composure. This had to be nightmare. This couldn't be happening to her. As she opened her eyes slowly, she stared straight ahead of her. Shadows of various forms raced across the cafeteria in front of her, their diverse colored eyes aimed on her. 

            _What's going on? What do they want with me?_

            A pair of eyes slowly approached her, the bulky form limping from side to side. Crimson stained talons reached for her. Quistis turned her head to the side and began to breath in gasps of air. She stared at her unknown foe from the corner of her eyes. The talons reached for her still and the images went blurry as more tears mounted onto the dry ones. With one final desperate reaction to the dilemma, she slowly lifted a foot and then launched it forward as soon as the creature made a swipe for her face. The talons skinned her cheek. Pain flared to life as blood dripped down the damp flesh. As soon as she heard the high-pitched squeal from the creature as it flew away from her, she was up on her feet, running for the light source from the kitchen. Shoving aside chairs and tables, the kitchen quickly loomed in front of her.

            _I'm almost there! I'm going to make it!_

Her thoughts were completely silenced as she felt something heavy land on her back. She fell to the ground on her stomach painfully; shards of glass from the glass windows overtop the counter digging into the side of her face as it scraped along the ground. She lay there motionless for a while, completely unaware of what had happened. Loud hisses and sounds of feet shuffling along the floor were what had brought her back to the real world with agonizing pain. Her eyes snapped open, the glass embedded in her forehead scratching against bone. She found herself staring into a pair of dark red eyes as they sat in front of her face. What the hell was that that had attacked her? Who were these creatures? They were obviously dangerous.

            "W-what do you want?" Quistis whispered, her voice hoarse and weak.

            "Hu li te ka?"

            Quistis blinked, the glass rubbing up against her skull painfully. She winced in the dark. "I…I don't understand."

            "Hu li te ka!"

            "Hu li te ka!"

            "_Hu li te ka_!"

            The voices were now a loud chorus. They were all raspy and hoarse as they screamed the same words over and over again. Quistis didn't understand what they meant. She was now getting scared, very scared. She silently wondered what they were going to do with her. She blinked; the creature mimicked her actions, just as the junior classmen had mimicked Stacie's. Were Stacie and the rest of the junior classmen one of these creatures? 

            "L-let me go, please. I didn't do anything to you."

            "At ut oh li tsu?"

            A hand, callus and rough dragged itself along the back of her bare thigh. She kicked at it and it slapped her thigh in return. Slowly, with the excruciating pain pounding away in the back and front of her head, she rose to sit on her knees, her head in her hands. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably as she quickly stood up, the world beneath her feet spinning and launching itself from side to side. Her stomach heaved slightly and she wrapped her arms around it. The shadows or creatures stood in complete silence. It was hard to pinpoint where they were standing. She felt their eyes on her though, the black ones at least. The other ones, the colored ones were all gone, just vanished into thin air. 

            Quistis prayed under her breath that they didn't try anything. She had to find a way out of here and the only way out was through the kitchen. It would lead into the training center and the training center would then lead her to her dorm room. It would be safe there, she hoped. She held her breath as she shifted her weight from one foot and silently slid over to the counter in front of her. Reaching out she hopped onto it and turned around on her bottom, her legs tucked in towards her body. There was a loud howl of rage from behind her and her heart skipped a beat in the fear. Sliding down the length of the counter, her right forearm was pushed down on something sharp. She didn't feel the pain until she had dragged her arm along the large, sharp shard of glass sticking out of the counter. Fire ignited to life in her right arm, quickly snaking its way into her entire body until she felt as if she couldn't move anymore. Her right arm suddenly went limp and hung at her side as she clenched her teeth against the pain and slid off the counter completely.

            She fell straight down to the ground. She was in the same position she had been in just a few minutes ago, only this time she was on the other side of the counter. Quistis landed on her stomach and quickly scrambled to sit up, her back pressed against the cupboards under the counter. With the little light that shone out from between the crack between the door that hung off its top hinge, she pressed two fingers to the large torn flaps of skin. Blood seeped down her arm and stained her pink skirt in large amounts. Biting down on her lower lip to fight from crying out, she pressed her uninjured hand down onto the large, deep gash running the length of her forearm. From wrist straight to the elbow, the gash continued to bleed immensely. It frightened her to see so much blood in just a few hours. What was she going to do?

            She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cupboards, her chin dimpling in and out as tears slid down her blood smeared cheeks, leaving pale finger trails in their wake. Opening her eyes, she stared up at the edge of the counter. She had gotten this far, now it was time to continue! She slowly pushed away from the cupboards and stood up gradually, being extremely careful of her wounds. The howls of rage had stopped. It was now dead quiet. When she turned around, she found the doors to the cafeteria swinging open, the junior classmen all gone from sight. Where did they run off? Were they in the cafeteria along with her? Would they attack her? No…

            Quistis whispered a small prayer under her breath as she hopped back onto the counter, being wary of the shard of glass that stuck out. She jumped over it and landed in a crouch on the ground. Her eyes did a little sweep over of the dark cafeteria before she bolted forward in desperation for the open doors. They were her way out, the way she came in. Something dark and large ran in front of her, scurrying away immediately. That didn't stop her; she was desperate to get out of here, to get away from the agony. She continued running, whimpering loudly, until a chorus howls of rage and pain froze her heart dead. She continued to run though, not looking back to see if they were closing on her fast. She could hear their feet shuffling quickly as they chased after her, their heavy, raspy breaths as they tried to catch up with her. The doors swung open once more in front of her before slamming shut.

            She sucked in a sharp breath and let it out in a howl of despair. She was so close! Something attacked her from behind, knocking her to the ground. Sprawled out on her stomach, she laid there breathing heavily, her arm bleeding like mad. Quistis let out a loud, long, heavy breath, but it stopped as she felt hands and feet caress her back, legs and buttocks. She sucked in another sharp breath as she heard something unsheathe itself. It made her blood run cold. What were they going to do with her now? What pain could they inflict onto her battered body that wasn't obviously enough? Something sharp raked across her back, her pink shirt ripping on contact, her smooth, innocent flesh tearing. 

            Talons, thousands of them raked across her back, along her legs and over her buttocks in rapid, precise swipes. Quistis let out a scream and then groaned loudly as she felt the talons dig into her back, tearing at her flesh, her clothes. She screamed and screamed while the creatures tortured her with their razor sharp talons. The smell of blood was heavy and thick as it floated into the air. It attacked her nostrils hard while she sucked in sharp intakes of air as she screamed out her agony, her pain. With one more swipe from each of them, she was suddenly flipped onto her torn back, pain causing her entire body to go numb and still as they recommenced the torture process again only this time on the front of her body.

            Their talons dug into her breasts, her abdomen and lower, tearing at chucks of flesh, ripping it from her body. They showed no mercy to their trespasser. They enjoyed watching her suffer greatly. They laughed at her, deep, raspy rumbles in their chests, as their various colored eyes were wide in delight. Her screams were growing weaker with every swipe they took at her body. Soon enough, her last scream was loud and clear, but it died as soon as one talon dug deeper then intended.

*          *          *          *          *

            Rinoa stared at her father with sunken eyes. Her father's back was straight and tense in the light sunlight that shone through the half pulled up blinds. He hadn't moved from that one spot since that morning when she had awoken to his voice. He had been screaming into the cell phone he carried on him all the time now. She didn't know how and when he had gotten the cell phone, but he had it with him always. She blinked absently and felt her lungs constrict painfully. Hoarse, raspy coughs racked her frail body. She bent over, her arms going around her stomach, a hand going straight to her mouth to silence the coughing. Her father whirled around immediately at the sound and stared at her from where he stood. His face carried no expression what so ever, it was completely impassive looking like his face had been carved from rock even.

            "Do you realize what you have done?" Her father's voice was hard and carried no hint of remorse. "We've lost it all!"

            Rinoa sucked in a deep breath of air as she uncurled her arms from her stomach and leaned back against the wall. The thin blanket that was wrapped around her slowly slid down her left shoulder and rested on the folds of her elbows. Her brown eyes closed, her bangs sliding to the side along her forehead. Her delicate face was ashen as her hands dropped to sit on her lap, palm facing up. Blotches of crimson smeared her palms and danced across her long, slender fingers that looked limp. Caraway eyed the blood with uncompassionate eyes and walked up to his daughter. Once in front of her, he slowly crouched down between her legs and stared at her face. She was in no condition to do anything, to help him out. How was he going to complete it all with her being damaged? What was he going to do? What kind of father had he turned into?

            Reaching out, Caraway gently took his daughter's hand in his own and held onto it. His thumb caressed the top of her knuckles as he kept his eyes trained on her face. He regarded her in scrutiny. She looked so much like Julia. It pained him deep down to see his only daughter in so much pain. She _was_ trying to fight it, but it didn't look like she was trying hard enough. Rinoa slowly took her head from the wall and opened her eyes to stare at her father in front of her. Tears made her brown eyes shine like new chocolate, something he hadn't seen in a while, as her chin took the form of indentation, her full lower lip trembling. It looked as if she were nibbling on the inside of her lip. Her eyes switched from side to side as they stared at him. Slowly she shook her head, her limp hair swaying from the simple movement.

            "It's all my fault. It's all my fault," she sobbed softly. Her tears fell down her cheeks quickly as she blinked. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

            Caraway blinked. His heart constricted badly in the ache of seeing his daughter like this. On the outside, the impassive expression never took leave of his face. He leaned forward and slowly wrapped his arms around her trembling body, bringing her to him. Her arms went around his neck as she sobbed into his shoulder. He rubbed her back soothingly, his cheek pressed into the top of her head. He closed his eyes against the sting of tears and tightened the grip on her body.

            "I didn't mean to leave, I was just curious." She turned her head to the side and stared at the window. The sunlight wasn't streaming into the room anymore. "I didn't know that you were going to leave me behind."

            "But we didn't leave you behind, Rinoa."

            Rinoa bit her lip. "Then where were you?"

            "In Winhill, just where you left us. Your mother and I were in the bar with Raine and Laguna."

            "No you weren't. Squall and I went there, we couldn't find you!"

            Squall. How he despised the man already. "Why were you with him?" He pulled her away and held her out at an arms' length.

            "I—we met in the bluffs."

            "How?"

            "By accident."

            "Hm." Caraway sighed heavily. "And what happened after that?"

            "We talked and then we went into town…"

            "Really. What happened after that, Rinoa?" He stole a glance at the window.

            Rinoa followed his gaze and furrowed her brow as four tall bulky men stood in front of the window. Dark sunglasses sat perched on their noses as they kept their lips tightly pressed together. Their hands disappeared behind their back. She blinked in confusion. What was going on? Who were they? What did they want? She squeezed Caraway's forearm tightly as fear seized her. They stared at her, or seemed to be, and she stared back at them. One by one, her eyes drifted. She hoped they were they to just see Caraway. Maybe that was who he kept looking for when he stared out the window everyday.

            "What is the meaning of this?" Caraway gently pushed her away and turned. He stood to his full height and glowered at the four men. "How did you manage to get in here?"

            The last man on the right, obviously the leader of the four, stepped forward. His hands stayed behind his back, his sunglasses on his nose. "We've come for the girl, sir." His eyes darted over to her briefly behind the lens and then back over at Caraway's heated expression. "She is needed."

            Rinoa feebly rose. She had to use the wall for support as she stared at the leader; her eyes squinted as she tried to make sense of the situation. They wanted her. Why? What had she done? Her eyes went to the back of Caraway's head and noticed that he was all tense, the muscles in his neck sticking out. What was her father going to do to them? Would he protect her or would he just give her up to them?

            "What are your needs for my daughter?" Caraway took a menacing step towards the leader, his voice cool enough to freeze the impassive look on their faces.

            The leader looked impervious. "You heard what I had said. The girl is to come with us, or you shall face the consequences."

            Rinoa felt her knees buckle underneath her, but she managed to grasp onto the handle on the wall. "Just leave us alo—"

            "Stay out of this, Rinoa." Her father's voice was like scorching steel. She shut up immediately. She wasn't in any shape to fight vocally with her father today.

            "The Mistress has good plans for your daughter, Caraway."

            "You can't have her! Go back and tell your Mistress to rot in hell, for you'll not be taking my daughter from me, over my dead body," Caraway spat vehemently.

            "That"—the leader lifted a hand and snapped a finger to the man to his side—"can be arranged immediately."

            A loud gunshot thundered to life in the small room. The bullet flew through the air at incredible speeds and entered Caraway's forehead, smashing through the skull, gliding through the brain and then cracking out from the back of his head. The bullet embedded itself into the wall, right beside Rinoa's left ear. Rinoa screamed out and tried to run over to her father as he stumbled back and then fell to the ground completely on his back. Her legs finally buckled on her and she fell to her knees painfully on the wooden floor. Choking out a loud, pitiful sob, she crawled frantically over to her father's fallen form and bent over him, her hands clutching his tightly. Tears fell freely as she sat kneeling beside her father's trembling body. They fell and landed on the front of his uniform, staining it, but it didn't matter, it wasn't ever going to be washed ever again.

            "Don't," Rinoa sobbed, "don't leave me! You can't, I won't let you! Please."

            Caraway brought his eyes over to his daughter's face, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth and from the bullet hole in his forehead. His throat rose and fell rapidly as he stared at her, tears brimming his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Rinoa, I'm not going to be there to protect you. You are so strong…and so much like your mother. Don't you ever forget…that." He lifted his hand, taking it from hers and cupped the side of her face with it. Tears slid free down his cheeks. "Be strong, Rinoa."

            Rinoa's chin trembled uncontrollably as the image of her father lying in front of her blurred completely from the overload of tears. Her fingers gripped his hand desperately. "D…daddy, please." Her voice shook wildly. "Daddy don't go and leave me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

            Caraway stared up at her, a small smile lifting his crimson stained lips upwards. "You finally called me 'daddy', after all these years. I'm so sorry, baby." His eyes closed.

            Rinoa leaned over, her hands still gripping his as she touched her lips to his forehead, just above the bullet hole. She let out a soft sob as she felt his entire body shudder hard beneath her. She kept her lips to his forehead until the shuddering stopped completely. It was then she lifted her head and stared down at the peaceful look on her father's face. His image blurred again as tears covered her eyes. She closed them and turned her head to the side. She wept loudly, ignoring the four men in the room. The leader watched the scene from behind his glasses and then took a step towards her. Rinoa lifted a trembling hand up into the air, her forefinger pointed at him and only him. Her sobs stopped suddenly and her head snapped around. She faced the leader, her trembling lips pressed together tightly; her brown eyes now a glowing dark red. She curled her finger in towards her and her eyes glowed a bright red.

            The leader's sunglasses fell from his nose. They clattered to the wooden floor noisily. His broad chest puffed out slowly as his knees began to tremble visibly. Snapping her hand up, palm facing the ceiling, she then twisted her hand around in a sharp, precise circle, her fingers arched and spread equally. The leader's eyes widened and then began to bug out of their sockets. Without word or thought, his eyes suddenly popped, blood splattering everywhere. Blood fell down his cheeks instantly, the torn flaps of eye tissue laid limp against his bottom lashes that were coated in blood and dripping of it. Puss from the inside of his eyes mingled with the blood as it continued to fall silently.

            The other three men stared at their leader in stun at what they had just witnessed. They watched as the leader fell to the ground, his head lying just at the feet of Rinoa's father. Rinoa snapped her attention in the man next to the dead leader, her eyes turning from a red to a dark canary yellow. Her other hand suddenly lifted up and fell into the same position as the other hand in front of her. Without any sign of a warning, a razor sharp letter opener lifted into the air and flew in a motion of blur for the man. He made a move to block it, to throw it aside, but Rinoa clapped her hands together and whistled through her teeth, changing the course of the letter opener. The letter opener flew past the man's feeble hands that reached out to swat it away and flew around his massive body to arch to the side and then arch again to then dive at a sharp angle.

            The man went to block it. Big mistake. The letter opener flew into his hand, slicing it through it and then hit its target right on the spot. The man screamed out his agony and reached down for the letter opener that was deeply embedded into his groin. As he made the move to remove it quickly, Rinoa hissed dangerously, her hiss echoing through the air that seemed to go stale all of a sudden. The letter opener twisted from side to side with vicious movements that had the man screaming, crying for her to stop, but Rinoa was relentless, she wanted them to all pay for her father's unexpected death. One by one, she was going to enjoy killing them. This was going to be fun, yet a disgusting experience for her.

            The last two remaining men rushed over to their screaming colleague and tried to calm him down, tried to hush his screams and wails of immense pain. It was no use, no use at all. The screaming man remained screaming, lashing out at his aiding colleagues with tightly clenched fists. One fist knocked one of his colleagues in the side of his head as Rinoa mentally twisted the letter opener to the side and then shifted it around so it were facing upwards towards his stomach section. The letter opener, with a few more claps and shifting of the hands, left the groin area and shot up through his body, ruthlessly attacking the intestines and kidneys, tearing them up into shreds on the inside. The man screamed louder, cried harder, his hands going to his head. His fingers dug into his scalp and he began to tear the wavy brown hair from his head. 

            His colleague to the right, the one who he had hit with his fist pulled out his gun and then shot three bullets at his thrashing colleague. The bullets hit his heart, lungs and head. The screams subsided, the cries halted. He was dead. The dead man fell to the ground heavily, resting beside his fallen leader. Two down, two more to go. The man with the gun snapped the weapon around so it faced Rinoa. He cocked back the hammer and aimed the barrel for the heart. Sweat beaded on his upper lip and on his brow, sliding down the sides of his face as his hands shook visibly and uncontrollably. The other remaining man whipped out his gun and pointed it at her as well. Both men were shaken up; they hadn't expected such power, such violence to come from this one young woman. Why hadn't their Mistress warned them ahead of time?

            Rinoa stared at them with glowing blue eyes now. She threw her head back and laughed hard at the way they looked. They looked pitiful, scared out of their mind, scared completely shitless. They had never dealt with someone like her obviously. They weren't use to it. She watched them as she brought her head back and stopped laughing. Squinting her eyes at the man with only three bullets left in his gun, she silently probed his mind, shoving aside the cloak of fear that had built itself around his thoughts. She smiled wickedly at him when she had found something useful. Both men stared at her, their eyes narrowed; their lips parted slightly, their chests rising and fall rapidly. What was she planning to do? Why was she smiling like that?

            Blinking slowly, her eyes went from their glowing blue to a cerulean blue that sparkled. Lifting her hands to her hair, she laid her fingers on top of her head gently and then with glowing fingertips, dragged them down in the blink of an eye. Her dark hair changed into a platinum blonde. Her fingers left her hair and she then placed her hands against her face. Sliding them down and up then separating them sideways, her face changed before their eyes before they could manage to blink. The man stared at her, their eyes widening more then they had already had in shock. Rinoa stared at the both of them, her teeth straight and completely stark white as she smiled a wide smile at them.

            The man whom she had probed his mind blinked absently as she slowly rose. His colleague stared at Rinoa and then whipped his eyes over to his friend. He watched as his gun was lowered. 

            The man with the three bullets left sighed softly and began to approach the woman in front of him who held out her arms to him. "Dayna, what are you doing here?" He stared at her, his eyes soft and loving. "Where's Joey? Kimmie?"

            The woman didn't have a chance to respond as the man beside him immediately cocked the hammer on his gun and let the bullets fly. The man with three bullets left watched as his wife stumbled back from the impact of the bullets, her arms falling to her sides. With the last bullet, she fell to the ground, her head resting on Caraway's chest. Her husband screamed out her name and stared at his fallen wife in disbelief. His wife stared at him, blood quickly pouring out of her mouth and from the bullet holes in her chest. She smiled softly to him and her lips mouthing the words 'I love you' to him. After the last word, her eyes slid shut and she went still, her face losing the lightly tanned complexion. It went to the pale complexion of a porcelain doll, something like the one he had gotten for his daughter for her eleventh birthday just the other day.

            The husband whirled around on his colleague and stared at him with tear filled eyes, his chin trembling every now and then. His gun came up into the air immediately and it was pointed at his friend's forehead. As he went to pull the trigger, his friend ducked and threw up a fist, knocking the gun from his hands up into the air. The gun flew up and he reached for it. Spinning it around as he caught it, he pointed it to his friend's chest and pulled the trigger, hearing the bullet hit the heart. His friend stumbled back, his hands at his chest, and blood seeping out from between the cracks of his fingers. His friend fell to the ground, landing flat on his back with a hard, painful sounding thud. 

            The last remaining man slowly turned and looked over at Rinoa. Her features had returned back to normal. Blood decorated the front of her frock as the blood from her mouth began to dry quickly. He walked over to her and kicked her hard in the ribs. Her body jerked back from the force. She remained still, her face revealing nothing what so ever but the look of serene peace. He bent down and grabbed her by her hair. Throwing her onto his broad shoulders, he stood and left the room, leaving behind the carnage of what a sorceress could really do. As he closed the door, he felt something move in the air and ignored it. As the four dead men stayed in the room, behind the closed door, in the hallway of the abandoned building, a loud scream exploded to life, the sound of bone crunching and grinding following, cutting the scream off into a gurgle. 

            The only sounds left were footsteps echoing through the long hallway.

            _To Be Continued…___

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'"  [LK1]Lonestar – I'm Already There [One of the most amazing songs ever; brought tears to my eyes…]


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